17 killed in blast at Yemen natural gas facility

DUBAI: At least 17 people were killed and over 100 injured in an explosion at a natural gas refilling facility in the Yemeni rebel-held Al-Bayda province, two officials told AFP on Sunday.

“17 people from Al-Bayda died and there are more than 100 injured” in an explosion on Saturday at the storage facility of a refilling station in the Al-Zaher area, the province´s communications chief Aref al-Ghamri said.

Another local official said “the gas refilling station exploded while customers were present”, adding that the facility´s location near a market contributed to the large number of deaths.

Social media users circulated videos, the authenticity of which AFP was unable to verify, showing flames engulfing dozens of cars in the vicinity of the station.

This is not the first time that Yemen has witnessed such an incident.

The cause of the explosion -- which occurred in an area considered a front line between the Ira-backed Huthi rebels and government forces and which experiences occasional clashes -- is not yet known.