German explosion injures nine

German explosion injures nine

An explosion at a German department store in the city of Wiesbaden has injured at least nine people, German authorities say.

Police said they did not know what had caused the blast but had no evidence it was a deliberate attack.

Four of the injured were taken to hospital.

Wiesbaden, the capital of the German state of Hesse on the Rhine River, is the site of an important US military base.

The explosion happened at around 1600 local time (1400 GMT) on the second floor of the Karstadt department store, near the building's lifts.

One official said a technical defect could not be ruled out as the cause.

The store was evacuated after the blast, which sent out a shower of metal and glass.

The shockwave from the explosion set off fire alarms and automatic sprinklers, causing heavy water damage.