Israeli police say an explosion in the port city of Jaffa killed three people and led to the collapse of a building.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says Tuesday an investigation is under way to discover the cause of the large explosion late Monday. He says an emergency team discovered three people dead under the rubble. Five others were taken to a hospital.

Local media reports say the explosion look place at a store for construction material in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, and was likely caused by an electrical short and gas leak. Local residents described a huge blast that led to initial fears of a militant attack. Large plumes of smoke billowed above the neighborhood before firefighters put out the blaze.

One eyewitness told local radio that the blast occurred in a paint shop. Police are investigating whether gas cylinders were involved in the explosion, according to a report in local newspaper Haaretz.

A police spokeswoman said the three men killed had provisionally been identified as a Jaffa resident, a man from the Israeli Arab town of Taibe and a Palestinian from the occupied West Bank.

Police were still investigating whether the explosion was accidental or deliberate.