Gas blast injures several people in Kuwait

(Adds minister's remarks, background)

KUWAIT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - An explosion caused by a gas leak shook a Shi'ite Muslim prayer hall in southern Kuwait on Sunday, injuring several people and leaving some trapped under rubble, the Gulf Arab state's interior minister said.

Sheikh Jaber Khaled al-Sabah, who inspected rescue operations at the partially collapsed two-storey building, said the blast had occurred because of a gas leak.

"Work is going on to save the four trapped people. I was able to speak to two of them," the minister said outside the building which was lit by floodlights. A row of ambulances stood by to rush the injured to hospitals.

Several people were injured in the explosion, but a resident said the prayer hall was not crowded when it occurred. There were no further details about the casualties.

Police cordoned off the building in the town of Ahmadi, a major energy centre in the Gulf Arab oil exporting state. The site is close to the headquarters of state oil companies. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; writing by Firouz Sedarat)