At least seven people killed in explosion at Turkey restaurant; Rescue operations underway

A blast in a restaurant located in the Turkish city of Aydin killed at least seven patrons on Friday, local media outlet The Daily Sabah reported. As per Turkish outlets, Aydin governor Huseyin Aksoy said that seven people died and four others were wounded in the explosion which occurred in the district of Nazilli.

Aksoy said that the reason behind the explosion was a gas tube change, as per preliminary information obtained by local authorities. In a conversation with Anadolu Agency (AA), initial findings showed that the blast took place when employees at the restaurant were attempting to replace an empty gas cylinder with a new one.

According to the governor, rescue operations are underway at the scene of the incident. Images circulating on social media displayed fire and rescue teams dowsing the fire as thick plumes of smoke erupted from the restaurant, which appears to be charred following the explosion.

Another deadly blast that shook Turkey

Another explosion that rocked Turkey occurred earlier in November killed at least six people and wounded 81 others in a crowded region of central Istanbul, BBC reported. "I saw people running around and wounded people were passing by the internet café towards hospital. It was a frenzy," said one onlooker.

Turkey blamed Kurdish rebels for orchestrating the blast, and a Syrian woman was susbequently arrested as a suspect. In a news conference in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that the perpetrators will be punished for the "vile attack,” and said that "the smell of terror" was in the air.