COLOMBO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed in an explosion in Sri Lanka's eastern Ampara district Friday afternoon, officials said.

    Defense officials said the "large explosion" took place near the "New City Cafe" hotel in the Ampara town, about 200 km east of the capital Colombo at around 5:45 p.m. local time (1215 GMT).

    An official said on condition of anonymity that around 10 people might have been killed in the explosion and 40 others injured.

    The Daily Mirror newspaper reported on its website that Housing and Common Amenities Minister Ferial Ashraff might have been the target as the explosion happened shortly after she passed through the area.

    The website said that Ashraff, a Muslim leader in President Mahinda Rajapaksa's cabinet, was safe.

    Ampara is one of the three districts which will witness the Eastern Province's first provincial elections for about 20 years on Saturday.

    Batticaloa and Trincomalee are the other two districts in the multi-ethnic Eastern Province where all three communities Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim enjoy almost equal presence.

    The government treats Saturday's election as a test of its popularity after it regained the Eastern Province from the Tamil Tigers' control in July last year.