Foreign
THE death toll has risen to six following an explosion at a shopping centre in Yerevan, while 18 people were still missing, officials said on Monday.
Some 70 rescue workers were searching the rubble, the statement by the civil defence authority said after firefighters had largely extinguished the blaze following the explosion on Sunday.
More than 20 people were reportedly being treated in hospitals after the accident that occurred at the shopping mall outside the centre of the capital.
Initially, Armenia’s Health Ministry said more than 60 people were injured, including about a dozen of children.
The blast occurred when a warehouse where fireworks were stored blew up at the wholesale site, triggering an explosion of a gas pipeline.
The massive blast generated huge clouds of smoke and several buildings collapsed, triggering panic.
The former Soviet Republic of Armenia in the South Caucasus is one of the world’s poorest countries.
Violations of safety regulations were common. (dpa/NAN)
C.E
Tags: Armenia’s Health Ministry
