More bodies found after Dominican Republic blast
The death toll from a powerful explosion in the Dominican Republic this week has risen to 25, with firefighters still trying to extinguish the ongoing blaze, a high-ranking Civil Defence official said.
The official told The Associated Press the number of missing remains at 10 because forensic officials are still trying to determine whether the additional bodies found correspond to those who are missing.
Emergency responders have still not been able to fully access the building where the explosion occurred on Monday at a bakery in the city of San Cristobal, which lies just west of the capital Santo Domingo.
Anguished friends and family have been pacing outside hospitals and mortuaries in anger and frustration, saying no-one has been providing them with information.
Meanwhile, authorities are probing what might have caused the explosion, vowing to crack down on any business that might not have been following regulations.
Ito Bisono, minister of industry and commerce, told reporters that officials have already determined there were no tanks of any type in the area, adding that he is waiting on authorities to investigate what happened.
“It was of great magnitude,” he said of the explosion.
Mr Bisono spoke inside a cathedral in San Cristobal that held a service on Wednesday for those who died, with mourners dressed largely in white filling the building to standing room only.
Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Emergency Operations Centre, said at a news conference late on Tuesday that if an unidentified factory was operating illegally as some residents have alleged, the investigation would shed light on that.
“If there is some type of culpability or not, the investigation will determine that,” he said.
“We will take legal action.”
At least 59 people were injured in the blast, which occurred in a bustling commercial area in the city’s centre and destroyed four buildings and damaged nine others.
More than 30 people remain in hospital with conditions including fractures, burns and respiratory problems.
Two firefighters were also treated for smoke inhalation.
More than 30 ambulances and some 500 personnel including rescuers and officials responded to the incident.
Toxic smoke still hovered over the explosion site, with health officials urging people to wear face masks.
San Cristobal, the birthplace of dictator Rafael Trujillo, was the site of another explosion nearly 23 years ago.
An arms depot exploded in October 2000, killing at least two people and injuring more than two dozen others, forcing authorities to evacuate thousands.
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