As many as 11 Palestinian people were killed on Thursday and over 50 others injured when wildfires broke out in a bakery at Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

According to medical sources and eye-witnesses, the fire was caused by a gas explosion at the bakery, resulting in several deaths, injuries, and heavy material destruction.

The list of casualties includes at least four children, three women and two men, along with 15 critically-injured people.

Civil defense crews showed up at the scene to put off the fire and limit the damage. The wounded were transferred to hospitals in the blockaded Gaza Strip for urgent treatment.

At the same time, at least three residential buildings, 22 vehicles, four cinder block factories, a bakery, two restaurants, a carpentry, 50 stalls for peddlers, and an institute for the handicapped were totally destroyed by the wildfire.

Large numbers of civilians rushed to help firefighters put out the flames. Smoke rising over the refugee camp could be seen from miles away.

The incident is reportedly under police investigation.

Gaza, a Palestinian enclave which covers 140 square miles (365 square km) along the Mediterranean Sea, is home to some two million people. Israel maintains a blockade of the Strip, citing security pretexts.