Gas explosion kills 19 in India

At least 19 people have been killed and 36 injured in a gas explosion which brought down three residential buildings in western…

At least 19 people have been killed and 36 injured in a gas explosion which brought down three residential buildings in western India.

Several others were feared trapped under the debris of the flattened buildings in Surat city, which accounts for 90 percent of India's diamond exports worth $8 billion a year.

"The rescue is almost complete except in one part and a few more people could be trapped there," city police chief V.K. Gupta told Reuters by phone from Surat, 250 km (155 miles) south of Ahmedabad, the state's main city.

Police said a diamond processing factory operated on theground floor of the 30-year-old building where the cylinderexploded around 3:30 a.m. (2200 Irish time).

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"We are investigating two possibilities: the cylinder couldhave leaked and a spark could have caused the explosion, or afurnace in the diamond cutting unit could have started a fireand triggered the blast," Gupta said.