Mascow restaurant gas blast injures ten

An explosion rocked a Georgian restaurant on a busy Moscow street tonight, injuring at least 10 people.

Police quickly ruled out terrorism and said the blast appeared to be an accident that was caused by a gas leak. Spokesman Valery Gribakin said investigators had found the gas canisters that caused the blast.

The explosion took place in the restaurant on the ground floor, and the second floor collapsed on top of it as a result of the blast.

Police said the injured included people inside the restaurant and passers-by. Most of the injuries were cuts and shock.

The explosion occurred at 8:16 p.m. (17:16 Irish time) on a warm spring evening. It ripped through the restaurant that is across from a theatre on Old Arbat Street, about a 10minute walk from the Kremlin. The street is lined with restaurants and is a popular place to stroll.

The explosion came only hours after a deadly bomb explosion ripped through a government compound in northern Chechnya, killing at least 41 people including six children and wounding more than 100 others