Rescuers recovered more bodies from the explosion of a fireworks warehouse in Armenia, raising the death toll since Sunday’s blast to 16, according to the Emergency Ministry.
Seventeen other people remain missing, the ministry said on Tuesday, after explosions devastated a market warehouse in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Sunday, causing parts of the building to collapse and injuring at least 60 other people.
Armen Pambukhchyan, the emergency minister, said a pregnant woman and a young child were among the dead and that search and rescue efforts were underway on Tuesday morning.
A video shared through the Emergencies Ministry showed rescuers sifting through a smoking pile of debris and twisted metal.
It is not known what caused the explosion, which took place in the giant Surmalu market, the government has ruled out an attack.
The news firm Armenpress quoted the government as calling for a day of mourning after the completion of the rescue operation.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the site on Monday with officials, the Emergencies Ministry said.