Warehouse blast near Uzbekistan airport causes multiple injuries

Published September 28,2023

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An in a single day explosion at a warehouse close to the airport in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent brought about a number of accidents, authorities within the Central Asian nation stated Thursday.

“There was an explosion, then a fire, which is still burning,” a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations advised AFP, having beforehand blamed the blast on a robust lightning strike.

The well being ministry stated on the messaging platform Telegram that “urgent medical care is being provided to those injured in the fire and in the surrounding apartments”.

So far, “there are no serious injuries”, it added, additionally blaming the explosion on lightning.

However, a hospital official in Tashkent later advised AFP that they had handled “10 injured people, including one in a serious condition”.

The well being ministry stated the fireplace broke out in a warehouse within the airport zone. The nation’s greatest airport is functioning usually, in response to the Uzbek nationwide news company UZa.

Videos circulating on social media confirmed a column of flames and smoke rising into the night time sky.

The blast blew out the home windows of a number of homes within the surrounding space and broken their interiors, whereas ambulances labored to evacuate these injured, an AFP journalist on the scene witnessed.

Explosions continued to ring out within the hours after the blaze broke out as emergency crews tackled the fireplace.

“I woke up at night, I thought it was an earthquake,” stated Koutepov Moustafo, a 72-year-old retiree who lives close by and whose home was affected.

“Then I saw the fire. My son was injured in the leg,” he advised AFP.

“I am asking the authorities to compensate for the damage as winter approaches, as I do not have the means to repair it on my own,” he added.

Uzbekistan is essentially the most populous of the Central Asian former Soviet republics. Fires attributed to outdated gear and non-compliance with security requirements are a daily incidence.