The blast happened at around 8:30 a.m. in Katowice’s Szopienice district, reducing the front of a three-storey residential building to rubble and smashing windows in nearby premises, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The century-old building where the explosion occurred had served as a parish clergy house for Lutheran priests, according to news reports.
Two dead, four hospitalised
Initially it was thought that everyone who had been inside the clergy house at the time of the blast had managed to survive.
However, in the course of the day, as emergency services sorted through the debris, they found the bodies of two women, aged 69 and 41.
The women were identified as a mother and a daughter, of Polish nationality, who had lived at the clergy house, police said.
Four people, including a mother with two small daughters, have been taken to hospital, the PAP news agency reported.
Others, including several Ukrainian refugee families who had been staying at the clergy house, were unharmed, officials said.
As the evening fell, firefighters continued to remove the rubble, an operation that could take many more hours, reporters were told.
PAP/Michał Meissner
Poland's Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession appealed for prayers “for the priests, for the injured families and for the entire parish community in Katowice-Szopienice,” as quoted by PAP.
The Lutheran authorities said they would soon issue an appeal for assistance on behalf of those affected by the blast, after needs have been assessed.
Gov't providing assistance to victims: PM
Shortly after the explosion was reported, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki took to social media to reassure the public that the government was taking steps to help those affected.
Morawiecki said in a tweet: “There has been a gas explosion in Katowice. Emergency services are at the scene. The rescue operation is under way.”
He added: “I’m in contact with the governor of the Silesia region. The situation has been discussed at a session of the Governmental Crisis Management Team. We are providing help to the injured.”
Meanwhile, Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg tweeted that ministry officials were at the scene of the blast in Katowice and added that the government was working with local authorities to “provide support to the injured people as soon as possible.”
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, polsatnews.pl, niezalezna.pl