Death toll in Yerevan explosion rises to seven

In Yerevan, rescuers removed the body of the seventh victim from the ruins of the “Surmalu” shopping centre. The number of missing people has risen to 17.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on August 14, an explosion occurred in a fireworks warehouse in the “Surmalu” shopping centre in Yerevan. A strong fire started after the explosion, and part of the building collapsed. According to eyewitnesses, there were a lot of people in the shopping centre when the explosion occurred.

The rescuers found the body of another person under the ruins of the “Surmalu” shopping centre, and thus, the death toll of the explosion increased to seven, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent learned from Hayk Kostanyan, the press secretary for the Armenian Ministry for Emergencies (MfE). The search and rescue operations at the place of the explosion are underway.

The Armenian MfE also updated the list of missing persons. As of 6:15 p.m., the list included 17 persons. “Two of the missing persons are foreign citizens: one is a citizen of Russia, and the other is a citizen of Iran,” Hayk Kostanyan reported.

The “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been informed by the Armenian Ministry for Public Health that 12 out of 62 victims continue to receive medical treatment in the medical centres of Yerevan. Doctors assess their condition as satisfactory. “The rest of the hospitalized people received the necessary medical care and were discharged from hospitals with positive dynamics,” an official of the Armenian Ministry for Public Health reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 15, 2022 at 06:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.