Three people have been killed while more than 60 are injured after an explosion in a firework warehouse engulfed the nearby market in smoke and dust in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan.
Reportedly, the accident took place on Sunday afternoon and the video footage of the blast and its subsequent impact has gone viral on social media platforms. However, it is still not clear what caused the explosion in the warehouse, situated in a shopping mall.
According to the Health Ministry, of the 60 people injured in the accident, 11 are children who are in critical to moderate condition.
Moreover, according to Armen Pambukhchyan, the Emergencies Minister, his ministry had received more than 20 reports of desperate people who could not find their loved ones in the aftermath of the blast.
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The firefighters engaged in the rescue operations were forced to work well into the night as the smoke and fire billowing out of myriad structures around the market still needed to be put out.
According to multiple local news agencies, rescuers are working in tandem with volunteers to search the area for victims who might be buried deep under the concrete and metal rubble of the buildings.
The sources have claimed that the death toll is expected to increase after rescue operations in the morning.
The Surmalu market where the blast took place is located two kilometres south of the city centre and is famous amongst the locals for its affordable price and variety of goods.
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(With inputs from agencies)
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