Children among 18 injured in explosion at Spanish science festival

An explosion at a science festival in north-eastern Spain has injured 18 people, some of them seriously, including 10 children aged between 3 and 13.

The accident occurred Friday evening during the demonstration of an experiment in the House of Culture in the Catalan city of Girona, about 100 kilometres north-east of Barcelona, media reported on Saturday, citing the authorities and hospital spokespersons.

During a demonstration at the festival organized by the University of Girona (UdG), a container of liquid nitrogen exploded in front of an audience of 200 to 300 people, mostly families, they said. Those affected did not suffer burns. However, most of them were injured by parts of the exploded metal canister.