One dead in house explosion in Katowice

Firefighters have recovered a body from the rubble of a protestant parish building that exploded in the Polish southern city of Katowice on Friday morning.

The explosion, which is suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, took place at 8:30 am on Friday in Katowice's district of Szopienice. Seven people left the damaged building on their own and firefighters were looking for two more people in the rubble.

"At about 12:30 pm the firefighters recovered the body of one of the people in the rubble," Jaroslaw Wieczorek, the province governor, told reporters on Friday. "We offer condolences and compassion to their loved ones.

"The rescue operation continues, we're still looking for one more person," Wieczorek went on to say. "We strongly believe that we'll either find them alive or we won't find anyone else there, and the person will be located at another place."

The explosion demolished half of the parish building.