Nigeria gas explosion kills nine near market

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nine people were killed after a gas cylinder explosion led to the collapse of a building close to a popular market in Nigeria's northern state of Kano on Tuesday, the national emergency service and witnesses said.

Mustapha Habib Ahmed, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency said the gas cylinder was in a welding shop when it exploded, killing nine people.

Emergency responders pulled bodies from the rubble during a search and rescue operation.

At a nearby school, parents rushed to remove their children after hearing news of the blast, witnesses said. There were no reported injuries among the school children.

(Reporting by Hamza Ibrahim, Editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Chris Reese)