Two dead, four hurt in Katowice presbytery blast

A 69 year-old woman and her 41-year-old daughter died and four people were injured, including two children, in a suspected gas explosion that ripped apart a Protestant presbytery in Katowice on Friday.

The blast took place at 8:30 a.m. in the city's Szopienice district and reduced half the building to rubble.

The first of the two fatalities was found by firefighters at 12.30 pm, the second after 3 pm.

Jarosław Wieczorek, the Silesian provincial governor, said the families of the victims had been provided with psychological support.

Commenting on the disaster on Twitter before the second body was found, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's prime minister, offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

"The gas explosion in Katowice has, unfortunately, taken human lives. Rescuers have found the body of a 68-year-old woman. My thoughts go out to the families," Morawiecki wrote.

Seven people managed to escape the damaged building on their own following the blast.

Prosecutors in Katowice have launched an inquiry into the disaster. A spokesperson for the District Prosecutor's Office in Katowice said a survey of the explosion site would be undertaken after the conclusion of the search and rescue operation.