dominican republic. The explosion left at least 27 dead and 59 injured

A powerful explosion of unknown origin, which occurred in a shopping area in San Cristobal province, in the south of the Dominican Republic, killed at least 27 people, including an infant, in addition to injuring 59 people and leaving twelve missing, according to what he reported. A new report from the authorities was published on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

The explosion rocked the shopping district of San Cristobal, capital of the province of the same name, at around 3:10 pm (7:10 pm GMT) on Monday. Then, it caused a fire to break out, with a huge column of smoke rising above it.

“The windows of the house moved so hard I thought it was an earthquake”A witness told the newspaper listening diary. “I thought they were going to break.”.

People felt the explosion about 500 meters away. The fires caused by the explosion damaged nine buildings and partially destroyed four others.

The shockwave shook several buildings, including a hardware store, a veterinary clinic, and a public ministry building. At this time, it was not possible to determine exactly where the explosion occurred. Several cars turned to ashes.

The deputy director of civil protection, Delfin Antonio Rodriguez, indicated that the fire “Under 90% control, the fire is contained.”Pointing out that openings have been made in the building to enable this “turn off” completely on fire. About 500 emergency services personnel are involved in the operations.

The latest report is back Wednesday afternoon. It was relayed by the Director of the Emergency Operations Center (CEO), Gen. Juan Manuel Mendez, during a televised press conference.

Pictures of the missing people went viral on social media, along with the phone numbers of their loved ones.

“When this kind of tragic situation happens, when bodies have to be identified, it takes time.”Mr. Mendez said.

the government “We will respond proportionately to this terrible tragedy.”said Dominican President Luis Abinader, who attended a mass in honor of the victims on Wednesday. announced measures to “To take care of all business economically” Which was damaged, especially flexible financing solutions from public and private banks.

However, the amounts were not disclosed.

“It is an event that affected all of us, we are deeply shocked and deeply saddened.”he added.

I conduct the investigation

On Wednesday, the Dominican authorities declared a one-day national mourning for this explosion, whose cause is still unknown.

The investigation has already begun. Local newspapers reported that the area was militarized and the security perimeter extended.

The authorities confirmed that a parking lot will be built in this area. So most of the buildings in the business district were vacant.

“There was a hardware store over there. […] Also a machine that had an explosion, as we were dealing with plastic. There are chemicalsMr. Rodriguez explained without elaborating.

The Dominican government said about 500 members of the security forces, civil protection and fire departments have been deployed to the area. Dog units are used to search for survivors under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

San Cristobal is the fourth most populous province in the country with nearly 700,000 residents, out of ten million in the Dominican Republic, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. San Cristobal is located less than 30 kilometers from the capital, Santo Domingo.