Eleven people were killed and 40 others wounded in an explosion in a factory in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul on Thursday, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said.

Local NTV quoted Guler as reporting that the explosion took place in a five-story business center near "Sisecam" factory on Davutpasa Cifte Havuzlar street in Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul.

Fire and rescue squads were sent to the explosion site, added Guler.

An early report put the toll at two people killed and 40 others wounded.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)