Five people died and 12 others injured on Monday in a propane tank explosion in northern Israel, a police spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua.

"It's not clear whether the origin of the explosion was a leak in the gas tank or an electric shortage," Mickey Rosenfeld said of the blast, which occurred at a residential building in the city of Acre.

Police are looking into the details and not ruling out any possibility, including potential foul play in a possible attempt to damage cellular antennae located at the top of the building, Rosenfeld said.

Residents of the building say there have been prior attempts to torch the antennae out of the fear that they might cause cancer.

Among the five people who perished were a couple aged 40 and 35 and their 8-year-old son. The other two victims were a man and a woman in their 40's. Two people were severely injured.

The injured are being treated at hospitals in Haifa and Naharyia.

By late morning, emergency and rescue crew were still working at the site to look for more survivors who might be trapped in the building.

A month ago a couple and their infant child were killed in a gas tank explosion in east Jerusalem. Police believe the blast was the result of mishandling by a gas technician who visited shortly before.