Germany explosion: One dead and 25 injured in huge blast at residential building in Blankenburg

One person has died and 25 people are injured after a huge explosion at a five-storey block of flats in Germany.

Local police in the town of Blankenburg have said that at least 25 people were injured and at least one person has died. The apartment building where the blast occurred and a nearby kindergarten were evacuated.

News agency dpa quoted police spokesman Uwe Becker as saying that he couldn't rule out the number of people hurt in the explosion in Blankenburg, in the Harz mountains, being higher.

The explosion occurred inside a five-storey residential block in a town of Blankenburg, home to some 20,000 people, local police reported. As many as 160 rescue workers dealt with the disaster, among them fire brigades and paramedics.

Residents, including children at a nearby kindergarten, were evacuated, and the area where the explosion occurred was sealed off, police said. None of the children were hurt, police tweeted.

The incident took place just before 9 a.m. local time. Rescue services were at the location on Bertolt-Brecht Strasse as firefighters began evacuating the building and looking for more victims. A nearby kindergarten was also evacuated, and police said none of the children were hurt.

Emergency services are at the scene, the area has been cordoned off, and the cause of the explosion is not yet known.