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Itongadol.- Five people were killed Monday morning in a gas explosion at a residential building near the northern port of Acre. Three of the victims were an eight-year-old boy and his parents, aged 51 and 55. Another couple, aged 38 and 43, were also killed.
The blast ripped through the apartment block at around 2 am, destroying the three-story building and leaving residents trapped under the rubble. At least 10 people were wounded in the explosion.
Magen David Adom rescue personnel rushed to the scene to treat the injured, one of whom was in serious condition.
The working assumption is that the explosion was indeed caused by a gas cylinder, but police are have not ruling out criminality. They are also looking into the possibility that the blast was the outcome of a dispute over cell phone antenna towers.
Local police commander Haggai Dotan said that the investigation will be all-encompassing, including a criminal aspect. "There were cellular antennae on the roof, and investigators are looking into the connection," Dotan said.
All the buildings in the Old City of Acre, where the blast occurred, received a request to take down their cellular antennas, but the building that collapsed was the only one that did not do so.
An emergency services command post was quickly established at the entrance to the Old City, in the wake of the blast, and 18 firefighter crews were dispatched to the location.
Last month, a family of three in Jerusalem was killed and 15 people were injured when a gas cylinder exploded in an apartment block, apparently after a gas leak in the third floor of the building.