LAGOS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and four others injured in a gas explosion in the city of Kaduna, northern Nigeria, on Saturday, local police told Xinhua.
Kaduna police spokesman Yakubu Sabo, who confirmed the casualty figures to Xinhua on the phone, said the explosion emanated from a roadside gas vending shop in the business area of the town of Sabon Tasha, affecting passersby and shop owners.
Among those killed, two were burned beyond recognition, Sabo said. The four injured sustained varying degrees of injuries, as the explosion impacted three other adjoining shops of different businesses, Sabo said.
Teams of detectives have been dispatched to the scene on a rescue mission and for further investigation, he said.
Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna state's commissioner of internal security and home affairs, who was at the scene of the incident to assess the extent of the damage, told reporters there would be an investigation.
Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, has extended condolences in a statement to the families that "lost their loved ones following the gas explosion in Sabon Tasha."
