Explosion injures 25 people in western Germany

The explosion ripped through the facade of the building exposing the burnt out apartments inside. Photo / AP

Twenty-five people were injured, four of them severely, when an explosion destroyed an apartment building in the western German city of Wuppertal, police said Sunday.

Police said the explosion rocked the several-story building shortly before midnight Saturday with a large bang, scaring people in surrounding homes so much they ran out into the street in a panic.

The detonation was so severe it destroyed the building's attic and the top three floors, the German news agency dpa reported.Fire then broke out in several different parts of the apartment building and firefighters had trouble dousing the flames because parts of the building kept collapsing.

German police say 25 people were injured, when an explosion destroyed a 3 level building in Wuppertal. Photo / AP

They were able to rescue four severely injured from inside the building and sent them to the hospital. Another 21 people were slightly injured and treated by emergency staff at the scene.Police said Sunday they were still trying to get the fire under control and were investigating the cause of the explosion.

They would not comment when asked if the explosion could possibly be terror-related.

A car nearby was destroyed, buried under window frames that were blown onto it by the impact of the explosion. Emergency personnel on Sunday picked up bricks and furniture on the street from the explosion.

A car is destroyed after an explosion of a building in Wuppertal, Germany. Photo / AP

Some of the building's roof beams stood black and eerie in the smoke as police scoured accessible parts of the building for further people trapped inside before giving the all-clear.

The place where the building stood is now a huge gap in a row of apartment buildings in the city's Langerfeld neighborhood.

- AP