DUBAI A blast apparently caused by an explosive device damaged a telephone booth at a major shopping mall in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday but no one was injured, witnesses and mall officials said.

They said the explosion at Euromarche, an 80-shop complex in the center of the city, appeared to have emanated from the booth at 11 a.m. (0800 GMT).

"It was a small explosion. It caused slight damage to the telephone booth and to a car which was passing by," Euromarche Chairman Ibrahim al-Malek told reporters.

Witnesses said the explosion occurred at the entrance to the complex's supermarket.

"Shoppers and staff were in a state of panic and jostled out of the mall," a mall employee told Reuters by telephone from Riyadh.

"Police closed the shops and all roads leading to the mall for about one hour to check for further explosives," he said.

Euromarche is 100 percent owned by Saudi investors.

The incident comes after three blasts in Saudi Arabia in November and December in which one Briton was killed and five others were injured.

(Reuter)