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A huge explosion has rocked a busy supermarket in St Petersburg, leaving at least 10 people injured.

The blast happened in the Perekrestok supermarket in the northwest of the city, and shoppers fled in panic as emergency crews descended on the scene.

It is thought a bomb packed with shrapnel exploded in a storage locker, and authorities are treating the explosion as a deliberate attempt to kill.

One person is believed to be in a serious condition, while a further three were taken to hospital.

Six more were treated at the scene, emergency service sources told Russian media.

It comes days after a foiled terror plot to target the city led to large quantities of explosives being seized.

(Image: @haskologlu/Twitter) (Image: Twitter) (Image: REUTERS)

An official told TASS news agency: “There was a bang. Emergency personnel are already on the scene. The evacuation has been completed, and there was no fire."

Sputnik news agency reports that a device filled with shrapnel is believed to be the source.

Dozens of police and ambulance crews descended on the busy location, and bomb experts have been seen examining the aftermath.

Explosion comes after US warning The attack comes a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked US President Donald Trump for warnings about a possible terror attack in St Petersburg. A tip from the CIA warned that the Kazan Cathedral was among the targets in the terror plot. As a result, Russian authorities seized a 'significant amount of explosives' and 'extremist literature'. In a phone conversation on Sunday, Putin thanked Trump for the tip, the Kremlin confirmed.

A statement from the Russian Investigative Committee said: "According to the preliminary assessment by explosives experts, an improvised explosive device, equivalent to 200 grams of TNT, exploded in St. Petersburg.

"The device was filled with projectiles."

The explosion happened at around 6.30pm local time, and Russia's Interior Ministry told TASS that people had been injured.

(Image: RT) (Image: RT)

Thousands of people were reportedly inside the shopping complex, in the northeast of the city, when it happened.

It comes just days after a foiled plot to target St Petersburg, when a 'significant' amount of explosives were seized.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

Today's blast happened at one of the busiest times of the year, in the build up to New Year celebrations.

Emergency service sources have told Russian media that the force of the explosion was the equivalent to around 200g of plastic explosive TNT.

In April, a suicide bombing in the St Petersburg subway left 16 people dead and wounded more than 50.