Brussels 'gas' explosion kills one, injures seven

A man was killed and seven injured including three seriously in an explosion Saturday at a home in Brussels, most likely due to a gas leak, an official said.

"This afternoon, the residents of two houses were hit by an explosion, followed by a fire," the Brussels public prosecutor said in a statement.

"Seven people were moved to two hospitals. According to them, three are seriously injured, including a two-year-old infant and a 15-year-old child. In the evening, the body of a man was found in the rubble," it said, adding he had not yet been formally identified.

Speaking to Belgium television channels RTL and RTBF, the local mayor Charles Picque said "the explosion was probably accidental and caused by a gas leak".

Belgium has remained on high alert since March 22 last year when three suicide bombers attacked Brussels airport and a metro station near the EU headquarters, killing 32 people and wounding hundreds more.

Source: AFP