Four killed in gasoline tank explosion in central Vietnam

A gasoline tank exploded Thursday in central Vietnam, killing four men who were testing it and injuring four others, officials said.

Three workers were killed instantly and another died at a hospital following the blast, said doctor Nguyen Ba Hung at the General Hospital in Danang City.

Hung said four other workers remained hospitalized.

The workers had been testing the strength of a newly built 12,500-cubic-meter (16,350-cubic-yard) concrete tank used to store gasoline for a state-owned company when the incident occurred, said Nguyen Dinh Chinh, Danang's deputy police chief.

The explosion blew the lid off the tank, which is 15 meters high, and started a fire, he said. The workers, who were on top of the structure at the time, were hurled to the ground.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.