A baby boy and a five-year-old girl were killed in an explosion east of Vietnam's capital Hanoi early Wednesday that destroyed several houses and wounded at least eight other people. Authorities are investigating the cause of the blast in Bac Ninh province's Yen Phong district, which occurred at 4:30 am demolishing buildings and sending debris flying through the air.

The explosion completely razed four homes to charred rubble and shattered the windows of surrounding buildings. A one-year-old boy and a girl were killed, according to a report from the provincial health department seen by AFP. At least eight others were injured by the blast, district authorities said in a statement. Local resident Nguyen Thi Tap told AFP her house was badly damaged by the explosion, which jolted her from her sleep early in the morning. "We were so scared.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018