A huge explosion rocked Nashville, Tennessee, USA on Christmas morning. The police described the incident as a deliberate act.

The police officers, who called the bomb squad to investigate Christmas morning blast of a van in downtown Nashville and cleaned up the area before it exploded, are honored as heroes, Fox News reported.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper described the blast as a deliberate act.

Police responded to a shooting report early Friday morning when they came across the van.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said he had received a report that there might be a bomb in the van that would explode within 15 minutes.

Drake said the police officers began evacuating people from nearby residential buildings. The bomb squad was already responding to the report when the van exploded.

One of the officers, according to the police, lost his hearing as a result of the explosion.

Three people are reported to have sustained minor injuries.

Fox News added that the explosion caused material damage to at least 41 businesses in the region.