At least three Nepalis were among 12 killed in an apparent gas cylinder explosion at a Turkish restaurant on Thursday morning. Another 32 were injured in the blast at Istanbul Restaurant which is attached to a popular mall.

Acting Nepali ambassador to Qatar Ganesh Dhakal confirmed three of the six bodies recovered from the blast site had been identified as that of Nepalis. Kamal Hamal, who works in another restaurant nearby, said Man Bahadur Khatri, Durga Karki and Tanka Bahadur Chhetri of Baglung were killed in the blast.

According to the local news website four of the victims were killed at the site of the explosion, while eight others died on their way to the hospital.

Officials are treating the explosion as an accident, though it is unclear what ignited the tank.

"It was a huge explosion," the public security chief, Major General Saad 

bin Jassim al-Khleifi, told a press conference local news agency QNA reported, adding that the gas tank had caught on fire before it exploded.

Footage showed paramedics carrying a covered body past rubble strewn some 50m from the building, whose roof had caved in.

After inspecting the incident site, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani assured to investigate into the incident.  

The restaurant had recently opened following renovations and is situated among a strip of eateries that get particularly busy late at night, she said. 

Nineteen people were killed in a May 2012 blaze at a major Doha mall, including 13 children and four supervisors at a nursery located within the shopping centre.