ANKARA, Oct 19 (AFP) - Eighteen people, among them at least eight foreign tourists, were injured Tuesday in a gas explosion at a Turkish bathhouse in a popular Mediterranean resort in Turkey, a local official said.
Gunhan Sarikaya, governor of Alanya town, told AFP that the blast occurred "due to a mistake by workers who were repairing a water tank." He provided no further details.
Five Germans, two Dutch nationals and a Russian were among the injured, he said, adding that foreigners may also be among five other injured people whose nationality was not immediately known because they were unconscious.
About 50 people, most of them foreigners, were in the baths when the blast happened.
"It could have been worse. We were lucky that nobody was killed," Sarikaya added.
Visits to traditional Turkish baths are among the attractions that foreign tourists are offered in the country.
The resort of Alanya, home to Turkey's biggest holiday villages, is visited mostly by German holiday-makers.