Three people were killed when a powerful explosion nearly destroyed a block of flats in the German city of Bremen on Thursday, emergency services said.
A 41-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son were among the bodies recovered from the rubble after the blast, which occurred at around 4:30 am (0230 GMT), police said.
A 70-year-old woman also died in the building next door, which went up in flames after the explosion.
The explosion gutted the building's interior, leaving just the foundation walls standing, fire department spokesman Michael Richartz said.
Cars were damaged in the vicinity of the building by flying debris. Richartz described the force of the blast as "enormous."
"That the residents of that building were not injured is verging on a miracle," he added. "I have never seen anything like it."
"I thought a plan had been downed," a neighbour, who had spoken to the two women who were killed in recent weeks.
The cause of the explosion is not yet clear, although authorities suspected a gas leak.
All houses within a 100-metre radius of the building have been evacuated in the district of Huchting in the north-western city-state. Around 70 firefighters were at the scene.
