Spanish gas explosion kills five

Five people were killed and at least 10 others injured in a gas explosion at a block of apartments in the northern Spanish coastal town of Laredo, authorities said today.

The blast, blamed on a faulty bottle of propane gas, occurred just after 4.30am local time (3.30am Irish time), Laredo Mayor Santos Fernandez told leading Cadena SER radio.

He said the bodies, found in the same apartment, were discovered by firefighters when a blaze caused by the explosion was out.