NUR-SULTAN— The death toll from explosions at an arms
depot in southern Kazakhstan climbed to 13, authorities in the ex-Soviet
country said Saturday, adding that three people were still missing.
اضافة اعلان
The blasts occurred at a defense ministry ammunitions depot
in the southern Jambyl region, leaving dozens injured and forcing the
evacuation of more than 1,000 people from nearby villages.
The Central Asian country's emergencies ministry said
Saturday that a 13th body was recovered at the site but had not been
identified.
"The search for three missing (persons)
continues," the ministry said in a statement.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that Sunday would
be a day of national mourning for the military personnel and rescuers who died
at the scene of the disaster.
Praising their "heroism," Tokayev wrote on Twitter
Saturday that the victims would "always remain in the memory of the
people".
On Friday, he acknowledged "systemic problems"
with
Kazakhstan's ammunitions storage.
Regular incidents at Kazakhstan's Soviet-era military depots
have proven a headache for the government.
Another depot near the southern town of Arys has seen three
lethal explosions in the last decade.
The defense ministry said some of the munitions stored at
the Soviet-era depot in Jambyl had been transferred from the facility in Arys,
where there have been calls to resettle the town's entire population of 45,000.
A video shared online showed a column of smoke billowing
from a fire before a powerful explosion sent flames shooting out.
Another showed debris flying through the sky in long arcs as
the fire raged.
The defense ministry said a fire had broken out and
"quickly spread to storage facilities where engineering ammunition is
stored" causing multiple blasts.
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