Sweden explosion: Up to 20 hurt in apartment blast

GOTEBORG, Sweden — As many as 20 people were hurt and hundreds were evacuated Tuesday following an explosion at an apartment building in Sweden, authorities said.

Sweden explosion: Up to 20 hurt in apartment blast Smoke billows from an apartment building after an explosion in Annedal, central Goteborg, Sweden, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2021. (Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/TT via AP)

Sweden explosion: Up to 20 hurt in apartment blast Emergency services attend the scene of an apartment building after an explosion in Annedal, central Goteborg, Sweden, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2021. (Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/TT via AP)

Sweden explosion: Up to 20 hurt in apartment blast Emergency services are seen at the site of an explosion in central Goteborg on September 28, 2021. (BJORN LARSSON ROSVALL/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

Sweden explosion: Up to 20 hurt in apartment blast Firemen work at the site of an explosion in central Goteborg on September 28, 2021. (BJORN LARSSON ROSVALL/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

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Witnesses Lars Hulten and Lars-Gunnar Wolmesjo told local newspapers that they saw residents climbing, falling and jumping from their balconies, the AP reported.

According to The Associated Press, the blast occurred shortly before 5 a.m. local time in the building’s courtyard in Goteborg’s Annedal district. A police spokesman told the news agency that eight of the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Three of the victims suffered serious injuries, the Goteborg Tidning reported.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but investigators do not believe that the blast occurred naturally, according to the AP. Local media outlets said police believe gas or an explosive device may be to blame, the news agency reported.