One person has died and 25 people are injured after a huge explosion at a five-storey block of flats in Germany.
An evacuation took place after the blast at a housing block in Blankenburg just before 9am, local police say.
Police said they found gas canisters and old war munitions in the apartment where the blast occurred and believe this was the cause of the explosion.
They are being assisted by specialist bomb disposal teams.
The victim was believed to be a 78-year-old man who was renting the property where the inflammable materials were found, they added on Twitter.
Police spokesman Uwe Becker earlier told DW "we cannot discount that there may be more victims".
Rescue helicopters were taking the seriously injured to hospitals as teams searched the rubble for more victims. One person is believed to be missing.
Photographs show thick black smoke billowing from windows on the second floor and rising.
Emergency services are at the scene, the area has been cordoned off.
A nearby day centre was evacuated and all the children were collected by their parents unharmed.
An update by Police Magdeburg on Twitter earlier said: "In the explosion, 25 residents were injured, some seriously.
"In the police station Harz in Halberstadt a task force was established.
"Currently, the area of is cordoned off and other residents are evacuated."
