Islamabad, June 8 (IANS) At least eight people were killed and five others injured in a gas cylinder blast in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The incident took place on Monday evening in a welding workshop in Mashkel, Washuk district, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and the injured to a hospital.

The blast also destroyed four other shops.

A witness said the explosion occurred when workers were using a welding machine to repair a gas cylinder.

The victims comprised five Afghan nationals and three locals.

--IANS ksk/