The explosion happened at a five-storey building of apartments in the city about 110 miles southwest of Stockholm, according to Swedish public radio. The windows were blown out and balconies destroyed in the explosion which also damaged nearby builgings. Police said a bomb squad had been deployed to the area after Friday’s blast which occurred at around 9am local time.
Local newspaper Corren had photos of the damaged buildings with rubble on the street, and a dozen ambulances lined up nearby.
Police spokesman Bjorn Oberg said: “Many people called in about a very powerful explosion which has led to a large number of windows being blown out,”
“So far we have been able to confirm that there are number of people with light injuries. We have cordoned off a large area, several blocks.”
Mr Oberg said he could not say anything about what might have caused the blast.
A criminal investigation is underway.
Police said in a statement that several blocks around the area had been cordoned off but that there were no plans to evacuate residents.
Regional authorities said in a statement that 19 people had suffered minor injuries in the blast.
They said Linkoping University Hospital and other medical facilities in the area had been called in to help care for those injured.
The statement said: ”The hospitals are in this way preparing to receive a larger number of injured should that prove to be necessary.”
Sweden has seen several cases in recent years where explosives were used in suspected gang-related attacks.
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