Aug 14 (Reuters) – Blasts ripped through a fireworks warehouse in a shopping mall in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported, killing one and injuring more than 50 people.
Video footage showed thick grey smoke rising above a building, followed by an explosion that sent people running from the scene.
People were trying to clear rubble and debris from a building that suffered extensive damage as clouds of dust and smoke hung in the air. Other bystanders were helping victims.
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Firefighters extinguish a fire after blasts ripped through a fireworks warehouse in a shopping mall in Yerevan, Armenia August 14, 2022. Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS
Armenia’s health ministry said on Telegram that the number of people injured had reached 57, of whom 20 had already been discharged. One person died, the emergency situations ministry said.
Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze as fireworks continued detonating, complicating the search and rescue operation, TASS cited the head of the ministry’s rescue service as saying.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fireworks to detonate.
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Reporting by Reuters;
Editing by Alison Williams and David Goodman
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