Argentina Gas Explosion Kills Five, Injures Dozens - Reports

       By Ken Parks 

    BUENOS AIRES--At least five people were killed and dozens injured in the city of Rosario due to an explosion triggered by a gas leak in an apartment building, reported television station TN, citing unnamed city government officials.

    The explosion occurred around 8:30 a.m. EST and caused heavy damage to several buildings in downtown Rosario, TN said.

    Live television footage showed fire fighters using ladders to rescue dazed and injured people. The blast blew out walls and windows, destroyed the facade of the buildings, and sent a plume of white smoke hundreds of feet into the air.

    The authorities evacuated the blast area, cut electricity and piped gas to some downtown neighborhoods, according to media reports.

    But local authorities and gas company Litoral Gas SA were still struggling to cut gas to the burning building almost three hours after the explosion.

    Rosario, home to about 1.2 million residents, is a major port city on the banks of the Parana River located about 188 miles northwest of the capital, Buenos Aires. The river ports in and around Rosario ship grain and soybeans harvested in Argentina's hinterlands to global markets.

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