Man killed in explosion on street in Lod

A man was killed by an explosion in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning in the central city of Lod.

The Magen David Adom emergency service said it had received a call around 3:15 a.m. about the blast. Medics arrived at the scene to find a man in his 20s in critical condition, unconscious but still breathing.

He was transferred to the nearby Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center, where he was declared dead.

Police opened an investigation into the circumstances of the explosion.

A witness told officers that the man had arrived with another person who was on a motorcycle. After the blast, the second man fled the scene on the vehicle, according to the Ynet news site.

In a separate incident, shortly after midnight on Wednesday a gas canister exploded in a first-floor apartment in Ashdod.

A 57-year-old man was transferred to Assuta Medical Center in serious condition with second- and third-degree burns.

Five others were lightly hurt by smoke inhalation, MDA said.