TOKYO, June 19: Three women were killed and six other people were injured on Tuesday after a powerful explosion gutted part of a women-only spa complex in an upscale area of Tokyo, officials said.

Only twisted wreckage remained of an annex of the spa, with the walls and ceiling completely blown away.

The blast was reportedly caused by a gas problem in the building that supplies water to Shiespa, a spa that opened last year in Tokyo’s bustling entertainment district of Shibuya.

“I’ve never experienced such a strong impact before,” a man who witnessed the blast told a television reporter.

“I thought it was an earthquake at first,” he said. “I saw people being carried away from the site. They were so bloody that I couldn’t even tell whether they were men or women.” Rescuers dug for hours through the rubble littered around the chic district and by sunset found a woman in her 20s, who is believed to be the last missing victim.—AFP