An explosion at a science festival in north-east Spain injured 18 people, some seriously - including ten children between the ages of three and 13.

The accident happened late Friday evening during the demonstration of an experiment in the House of Culture in Girona, Catalonia, about 100 kilometers northeast of Barcelona, ​​as reported by the media over the weekend, citing authorities and hospital spokesmen.

A five-year-old suffered the worst injuries. In addition, four other people - two other children aged ten and twelve years, a 47-year-old and a 31-year-old man - were seriously injured. They were all treated longer in Girona in the hospital. According to the circumstances, everyone is doing better again, hospital spokesmen reported at the weekend. Except for the five-year-old, all those affected are back home, it said.

The accident happened during a screening as part of the festival organized by the University of Girona (UdG) in front of an audience of 200 to 300 people, mostly families. Parts of a metal canister with liquid nitrogen flew through the air in the courtyard of the House of Culture during the explosion.

UdG spokesman Salvador Martí assured that the experiment with the liquid nitrogen had often been carried out without any problems. It was "incomprehensible" why the accident happened this time. The Catalan police will investigate, Martí said.