MANILA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were injured in a gas explosion that ripped through a mall in the Philippines' Oriental Mindoro province on Thursday morning, authorities said.
Police said the blast, which occurred around 10:20 a.m. local time inside the shopping mall in Calapan City, also damaged at least 13 cars parked outside the mall.
Initial investigation showed that a gas leak inside a Korean restaurant triggered the explosion.
Calapan City Mayor Malou Morillo said the injured include four restaurant employees, a delivery boy, and customers.
Rey Daniel Acedillo of Calapan City legal office said the injured sustained third-degree burns.
"They were immediately taken to the hospital," Acedillo told a local TV, adding that two South Korean nationals eating at the restaurant were among the injured. ■