Updated at 19:00

AT LEAST ELEVEN PEOPLE have been killed and over 100 injured in an explosion at a metro station in the Belarusian capital Minsk, according to Russia Today.

Emergency services are at the scene and the station has been evacuated. Thick smoke has been reported billowing out of the station.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion occurred after the train arrived in the Oktyabrskaya station at around 6pm local time (4pm in Ireland). The city’s two subway lines intersect at this station, located close to the president’s offices, and it was busy with evening rush hour passengers.

There is no indication yet if the explosion was caused by terrorists or was an accident. Witness Alexei Kiklevich said part of the station’s ceiling collapsed after the explosion.

President Aleksandr Lukashenko has called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. Local reports say that journalists and photographers are not being allowed near the scene.

This Russia Today video shows the situation in the station just after the explosion:

- Additional reporting by the AP

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