Dec. 13 (UPI) -- One person was killed Friday in an explosion at a German apartment building where gas canisters and decades-old ammunition had been stored, officials said.
The explosion occurred in Blankenburg in central Germany, about 60 miles southeast of Hanover.
Authorities said the blast killed a 78-year-old man and seriously injured more than two dozen people. They evacuated the rest of the building as a precaution, Magdeburg Police said.
Police said the explosion demolished the balcony of the apartment at the center of the blast, along with several nearby vehicles.
Investigators said they found a stockpile of World War II-era ammunition and liquid gas containers inside the man's apartment, and believe they were responsible for the explosion.