The explosion occurred in a 44-apartment building in the city of Aracaju, capital of the state of Sergipe, due to a gas leak from a cylinder inside a kitchen, Xinhua reported citing the local Fire Brigade on Monday.
"We have rescued 14 people alive. The injured were taken to hospitals in the city of Aracaju," Allan Santos, captain of the Sergipe Fire Brigade, said.
Santos said that in addition to the three people killed by the explosion, there were several collapses in the apartment building that left others trapped.
"The teams will remain in place until it is safe so that we can get back to work on the search for possible missing persons," he said after three people were reported missing by relatives on Monday.
AMK/PR