Tehran: At least 19 people were killed and six others injured in an explosion caused by gas leakage at a medical clinic in northern Tehran on Wednesday.
A video which has now gone online showed thick black smoke rising from the Sina Athar clinic and onlookers gathering outside of the building.
Tehran’s deputy governor Hamidreza Goudarzi confirmed gas leakage from medical gas tanks in the building as the cause of the explosion and fire.
Initial assessment put the number of dead at 13 but Tehran fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki confirmed that exact number to be 19. The dead included 15 women and four men and 20 people have been rescued, Tasnim news agency quoted Maleki as saying.
Reports said that there could be more explosions because there were a number of oxygen tanks remaining in the medical center.
