Eleven people were killed and more than two dozen others injured in a powerful explosion in a building in the Roshannagar area under the Kalyanpur police station area of Kanpur city on Tuesday night. 

SP (West) Awdhesh Kumar Yadav said the explosion occurred in a two-storied building, inhabited by 18 families, mostly belonging to the minority community.

The blast was so powerful that the ceiling collapsed and the building caved in, he said.

The police are removing the bodies from the debris and rescue operations are on.  

The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained, Mr Yadav said.