YEREVAN —
The death toll from an explosion at a bustling market in the
Armenian capital Yerevan rose to six on Monday as search operations continued for people
believed trapped under rubble.
اضافة اعلان
Another 61 people were injured and 15 were missing
after Sunday’s blast that led to the collapse of a building at the Surmalu
wholesale market, Armenia’s Emergency Situations Minister Armen Pambukhchyan
said.
Rescue operations were continuing “very carefully”
with people still believed to be trapped beneath the debris, he added.
Pambukhchyan told reporters that video footage of
the incident showed that “there can be no talk of a terrorist attack” as the
fire started before the explosion.
He said the fire spread to “pyro materials”. Local
media had earlier said the explosion went off at a place that stored fireworks.
The cause of the fire was being established.
The minister said that smoke and small fire could
persist for several more days with lots of plastic shouldering at the scene.
Photos and videos posted on social media after the
blast showed a thick column of black smoke over the market and what appeared to
be a series of detonations can be heard.
Prosecutors meanwhile launched a probe into
violations “on stocking inflammable goods”, breaches in fire safety standards,
and the death of people “due to negligence”.
Armenia’s Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan visited the
site of the blast on Monday, according to his press service.
In all, 200 firefighters and medical workers were
sent to the scene, as well as fire engines and construction site equipment.
Rescue workers used a digger to clear away rubble,
an AFP journalist at the scene reported earlier.
The disaster comes as the country of 3 million
people is still recovering from a 2020 war with Azerbaijan, which ended in a
heavy defeat and sparked a political crisis.
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