SAN CRISTOBAL: Eleven people have died after an explosion ripped through a small town in the Dominican Republic, with 10 others missing and dozens injured, President Luis Abinader said Tuesday.
The blast on Monday shook the commercial area of San Cristobal, less than 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the capital Santo Domingo, sparking a fire that was still burning hours later, and a huge column of smoke.
Top emergencies official Juan Manuel Mendez released the updated death toll Tuesday evening, saying officials were working to identify more remains.
“There are 11 (identified bodies), but there are more corpses,” he said.
Of the 59 people injured, 37 remained hospitalized, emergency officials said.
Earlier in the day, Abinader visited the site of the explosion, sending condolences to the relatives.
“We are doing all that is humanly possible” to look for the missing people, Abinader said.
Authorities said Monday that a four-month-old baby was among the dead.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined, nor has its exact origin.
The blast affected several businesses in the area including a hardware store, a veterinary clinic, and a plastics factory. Several vehicles were left scorched.
Pictures of the missing circulated on social media, while dozens of people searched for missing family members at nearby hospitals.
Some 500 firefighters and other rescue officials were sent to the scene, with search dogs being used to comb the debris.
“The windows of the house shook strongly and I thought there had been an earthquake,” a witness told the Listin Diario newspaper.
Local media also reported that some of the wounded had suffered burns on up to 40 percent of their bodies.
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