(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130429-prague-730a.photoblog600.jpg)David W Cerny / ReutersAn estimated 40 people were injured Monday when an explosion ripped through a building in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Authorities say some people are feared to be buried in the rubble and that natural gas is suspected as the cause.PRAGUE -- A powerful explosion damaged an office building in the center of the Czech capital on Monday, injuring up to 40 people. Authorities believed some people were buried in the rubble.
It is not certain what caused the blast in Prague's Divadelni Street, but a natural gas explosion was suspected, police spokesman Tomas Hulan said.
The street was covered with rubble and was sealed off by police, who also evacuated people from nearby buildings and closed a wide area around the explosion site.
Zdenek Schwarz, head of the rescue service in Prague, said up to 40 people had been injured with at least four of them sustaining serious injuries.
Windows in buildings located hundreds of yards from the blast were shattered, including some in the nearby National Theater.
"There was glass everywhere and people shouting and crying," Vaclav Rokyta, a Czech student, told the AP near the scene.
"I was in the bathroom, no windows, the door was closed. Honestly, if I had been in my bed I would have been covered in glass," said Z.B. Haislip, a student from North Carolina who was in a nearby building.
The Faculty of Social Sciences of Prague's Charles University and the Film and TV School of the Academy of Sciences of Performing Arts are located next to the damaged building.
The Associated Press
NBC News
This explosions are really not taking the citizens of the country anywhere. That is nt the solution to any of the problem