Six people, including three children, were killed in a gas explosion in a residential building in Iran's southwestern city of Ahvaz on Wednesday, official IRNA news agency reported.

The blast occurred at 07:46 local time (0316 GMT) at a four-story building that was destroyed. The neighboring houses were damaged.

Eleven people were injured in the blast, Mahmoud Roozbehani, a local firefighting official, was quoted as saying.

The cause of the blast has not been announced.

Explosions related to gas leak or damage are not rare in the country.

On June 17, a huge explosion hit an underground subway tunnel excavation project in western Tehran, killing two people and left massive destruction in the neighborhood.

Source : XINHUA