Monday, July 11 2005 17:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Moscow: Sixteen people were killed today (July 11, 2005) in an explosion in a shopping centre in the north-western Russian city of Ukhta, the emergency situations ministry said. There was no immediate indication of the cause of the blast.

"An explosion whose cause is unknown took place at 1358 hrs (IST). Moscow time (1608 IST) in a shopping centre housed in a two-storey brick building and caused 16 deaths, according to preliminary information," a spokesman for the ministry told Agencies by telephone.

Ukhta, which has a population of about 100,000 is in the oil-rich Komi region of Russia.