Irish man killed in Australian shopping centre explosion

An Irish man has been killed in an explosion in Perth, Australia.

Two people are confirmed dead following the incident and a number of others were injured.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the explosion at the Morley Galleria shopping centre in the city’s central north suburbs at about 9.30am local time.

They had responded to reports of a fire at the rear of the Woolworths supermarket.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is offering consular assistance to the family of the Irish national.

Reports indicate the likely cause of the incident was an exploding power generator. A Western Australia police spokesman told local media the injured and deceased were believed to have been in the vicinity of an electrical transformer.

“The cause of the explosion is unknown,” he said.

Due to the time difference – Western Australia is eight hours ahead of Irish time – further details may be delayed.