Four injured in Jerusalem gas explosion

Blast collapses part of home in Mea Shearim neighborhood

Rescue and medical personnel at the scene of a gas explosion in the ultra-orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim on August 7, 2015 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A gas explosion in central Jerusalem destroyed part of a home and injured four people Friday afternoon.

The explosion occurred in the neighborhood of Mea Shearim, collapsing part of the two-story building in the crowded ultra-Orthodox enclave.

Initial reports listed the two injured people, a man, 70, and a woman, 65, in moderate condition. One was apparently injured by the explosion and the second when part of the building collapsed.

Two other men in their twenties were lightly wounded, apparently after they jumped from within the building to escape the flames.

Reports suggested the cause of the blast was a leaky gas canister,

In January 2014, two parents and a child were killed when a gas tank exploded in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.

 

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