German police say three people have been injured in an apparently deliberate explosion at a Sikh temple in the western city of Essen, about an hour north of Cologne.

A spokesman for the Essen police told the Associated Press that a masked person is reported to have fled the scene shortly after the blast Saturday evening. Spokesman Lars Lindemann said the explosion was "quite violent," blowing out several windows.

One of the injured was said to be in a serious condition.

The blast took place in Essen, Germany, a city with almost 600,000 people, about an hour north of Cologne. (CBC)

Lindemann says police are working on the assumption that the explosion was caused deliberately but that there are no indications it was a terrorist incident.

He says the temple had hosted a wedding earlier in the day and those injured are believed to have been among the guests.