A major explosion possibly triggered by a cooking gas leak in a residential building has left five persons dead and five others injured Wednesday in Yingkou City of northeast China's Liaoning Province, local police said on Friday.

Initial investigations revealed that the explosion occurred Wednesday night on the fifth floor of the building in Zhanqian District. It killed five people on the fourth floor and a pregnant woman on the sixth floor, according to the local police.

Nobody was in the fifth floor room when the explosion occurred.

The blast took place at around 9:07 PM in an six-story building near the city's railway station. It has left the building in a dangerous condition, with cracks appearing in the walls.

Windows in nearby buildings were also shattered in the blast.

Five persons injured in the bast have been hospitalized. Over 50 affected households have been transferred to local hotels.

Local authorities said that specifics about the accident are still under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2007)