At least eight people were injured in a huge explosion that ripped through a multi-storey apartment building in southern Moscow early Sunday morning, Russian news agencies reported.  

So far, there has been no report of deaths from the incident, which took place around 4 am (0100 GMT) at Chertanovsky Street on the southern edge of the Russian capital.

An unspecified number of people, including several children, are still being trapped under the rubble, and emergency workers are rescuing the victims.

There has been no official comment on what caused the explosion.

Police said household gas explosion might be the cause of the accident.

"This is borne out by the initial information received from witness at the scene of the accident," an official at the Moscow interior department told Itar-Tass News Agency.

However, he said investigators would be pursuing other causes as well.

Earlier, Itar-Tass quoted a police officer as saying that an explosive device had been placed on the fourth floor of the building before the explosion.

The blast took place in a kitchen on the fourth floor of the 14-storey building, destroying all eight flats on the floor with a total area of more than 150 square meters, the Interfax news agency quoted Moscow Interior Department spokesman Alexander Matonin as saying.

The latest incident came just one week ahead of the presidential elections to be held on March 14 as security has been stepped up for the event around Moscow and across the country.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2004)