AN EXPLOSION in a Madrid apartment block has left 26 people injured, one of whom is in a critical condition, emergency services report.
A gas leak ignited on the first floor of the building in San Sebastián de los Reyes in the Greater Madrid region, at number 33 of the Travesía del Socorro, at around 17.50 last night (Sunday).
All 26 victims are residents of the block and were inside at the time of the conflagration.
Paramedics rushed 11 to hospital with burns and smoke inhalation, including a 60-year-old man taken to La Paz in a serious condition due to first-, second- and third-degree burns all over his body caused by the fire which broke out in the building as a result of the blast.
The remaining 15 injured parties were treated on site.
Firefighters rescued five more occupants through windows, by scaling them down the outside wall, and another four via the stairs.
The entire block has been evacuated as it is said to be 'very badly damaged' and 'structurally unsound', meaning all residents needed alternative accommodation overnight, and possibly for the foreseeable future.
