Blast outside UK embassy in Chile

There has been a small explosion outside a building housing the British embassy in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

It occurred several metres away from the British embassy office, which was closed at the time, and caused minor damage to the doorway.

There are no reports of casualties from the blast.

Police are investigating the explosion, reportedly caused by a cylinder containing gunpowder.

So far no-one has claimed responsibility, and police say it is too early to say who might have planted the device.

About 50,000 British tourists visit Chile every year.

The BBC's South America correspondent, Daniel Schweimler, says there is some anti-British sentiment among small extreme right-wing groups in Chile because of the 1998 arrest in London of the former military leader, Augusto Pinochet, who died last December.

The blast took place at about 2200 local time on Sunday (0215 GMT Monday).

The building also houses a Chilean tobacco company.