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Smoke billowed out over the shopping center in Yerevan after the explosion
Photo: IMAGO/Alexander Patrin / IMAGO/ITAR-TASS
After the heavy explosion in a shopping center in Armenia in the South Caucasus, the death toll has risen to 16.
The salvage forces pulled more bodies from the rubble of the collapsed buildings in the capital Yerevan, according to the civil defense of the former Soviet republic.
A pregnant woman and a small child were among the dead, it said.
More people were missing, the search continued, the rescue workers said.
More than 60 people, including many children, were injured in Sunday's detonation.
Warehouse with firecrackers explodes, then fire spreads
According to previous information, a warehouse with fireworks was blown up on the Yerevan wholesale site.
The three-story building collapsed.
A gas line exploded.
A big fire broke out.
In the meantime, huge clouds of smoke formed over the city, and people ran away in panic.
Numerous people had to be treated in hospitals on Tuesday.
Bordering Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Armenia is one of the poorest countries in the region.
Again and again there are breaches of elementary safety regulations.
lmd/dpa
