On April 29, 2013 at around 10:00am CEST (8:00 UTC),[1] an explosion occurred in a building in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic. The incident occurred in a townhouse belonging to the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic on Divadelní street in Old Town, Prague 1, close to the Academy of Sciences and National Theatre. The blast could be heard across the whole city centre, as far away as Prague Castle, 1.4 km (1 mi) away from the incident.[2][3] 43 people were injured by the blast, one seriously. No one was killed.[2] The resulting shock wave from the blast damaged windows in nearby buildings including the National Theatre,[4] Café Slavia,[3] the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.[5]

2013 Prague explosion
Divadelní street in Prague's Old Town following the explosion.
Date29 April 2013
LocationDivadelní 334/5, Prague, Czech Republic
Coordinates50°04′55.5″N 14°24′48.3″E / 50.082083°N 14.413417°E / 50.082083; 14.413417
Non-fatal injuries43

The blast was caused by a natural gas leak.[4][6] According to a head of the Prague Fire Service, gas could be smelled in the area following in the blast, causing risk of further explosions.[7]

Record of the gas explosion in the Divadelní street on April 29, 2013 in Prague, Czech Republic.

References

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  1. ^ "Divadelní ulicí v Praze otřásl výbuch plynu. Záchranáři zatím ošetřili 55 lidí". iHNED (in Czech). Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Výbuch pobořil dům u pražského Národního divadla, zranil desítky lidí". iDnes (in Czech). Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Gas explosion in Central Prague, more than dozen injured". Firstpost. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Suspected gas explosion in Prague injures dozens". The Guardian. London. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Výbuch v centru Prahy: Zatím 35 zraněných, možná i mrtví". ČT24 (in Czech). Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Powerful blast rocks central Prague". BBC News. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Ulicí u Národního divadla otřásl výbuch, podle šéfa záchranky jsou na místě mrtví". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 29 April 2013.