An overnight explosion at a warehouse near Tashkent’s airport resulted in one fatality and over a hundred injuries, according to authorities in the capital of Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek Ministry of Health announced via Telegram that a 2006-born teen has died,” adding 162 injuries.
The ministry of emergency situations reported that intense lighting caused “an explosion followed by an ongoing fire” in a warehouse in the airport zone in Tashkent.
According to the health ministry, 138 accident victims sustained minor injuries, while 24 others remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Social media videos depicted a column of flames and smoke ascending into the night sky in Tashkent.
The explosion shattered the windows of several nearby homes and damaged their interiors in Tashkent.
As ambulances evacuated the injured and emergency services fought the fire, AFP correspondents saw explosions for hours.
“I was awakened at night. I believed it was an earthquake,” said Moustafo Kutepov, a 72-year-old local retiree whose home was damaged in Tashkent.
Then I noticed the conflagration. My son suffered a limb injury,” he told AFP.
“As winter approaches, I am requesting compensation for the damage because I do not have the means to repair it myself,” he added.
The country’s largest airport is operating normally, according to the Uzbek national news agency UzA.
Uzbekistan is the most populous of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. Outdated equipment and safety violations cause many fires.
