One person was killed and four other people were injured after an explosion rocked a sports centre in the Belgian city of Chimay shortly after midnight
local time on Friday, according to the Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF).
Two of the four injured people suffered severe burns and were transferred to local hospitals. The other two were just slightly injured and treated at a local medical centre, the RTBF reports.
The explosion partially destroyed the building located on Rue de Chalon.
The official cause of the explosion is still unknown, but an official with Belgium's Crisis Center said "the information that I have is that it due to an accident, probably gas," according to the AP, adding that there was no indication of it being a terrorist attack.
A municipal stage of emergency has been activated and police have sealed off the scene, Françoise Fassiaux-Looten, the town's mayor, said.
"Every Thursday, a football game is held at the sports centre. It was exceptionally cancelled today. The toll could have been much worse," Fassiaux-Looten told reporters of the RTBF.
Map of Chimay, Belgium Screenshot via Google Maps
"The building is not supplied with gas by the city," the mayor said. "Gas bottles were found at the site, but for now, we do not have evidence to determine the cause of the accident."
Charleroi's prosecutor's office has dispatched an expert to the scene to help determine the cause of the fire. The surroundings of the building are still sealed off as the stability has yet to be verified.
Chimay is located in the province of Hainaut, near the border with France and about 75 miles south of Brussels.
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