One dead, 162 hurt after explosion follows lightning strike in Uzbek capital

Sixteen fire crews worked at the scene (mergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

A powerful explosion in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, has killed a teenage boy and injured at least 162 other people following a fire caused by a lightning strike, the country’s ministry of health said.

The ministry of emergency situations said the explosion occurred early in the morning at a warehouse in southern Tashkent, but did not say what was inside it to cause the powerful blast.