Explosion rips Tokyo hot spring spa, people hurt

(Updates with three dead)

By Alastair Himmer

TOKYO, June 19 (Reuters) - An explosion tore through a women's-only hot spring spa in central Tokyo on Tuesday, killing three women and injuring at least three other people, police said.

A boiler in the annex to the spa's main building had exploded, blowing out the roof and walls, media reports said.

Live TV showed workers carrying out at least one injured person and others searching the debris for anyone else that might be trapped. Only the metal skeleton of the building remained.

At least six ambulances and 10 fire engines were at the site, a Reuters witness said.

"When it exploded, the ground started shaking and it was amazing that I could keep standing," said Masami Hanahara, 61, who was about 10 metres (33 feet) from the building at the time.

"Rubble flew everywhere. I saw two people under the rubble."

At least one nearby building also appeared to have suffered damage.

"I live in an apartment building quite some distance away, and it shook a lot," one man told NHK television. "There was some smell, as if maybe oil was burning." (Additional reporting by Chisa Fujioka and Linda Sieg