1 year ago
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ARTICLE AD BOX
Image source, EPA
Rescue workers have been searching the rubble for possible survivors
By Vanessa Buschschlüter
BBC News
At least 11 people have died in an explosion which rocked the small town of San Cristóbal, in the Dominican Republic, on Monday.
Officials said they have identified the remains of 10 adults and a four-month-old baby, but warned "there are more corpses" likely to be found.
It is not yet known what caused the blast in the town's commercial area.
Smoke from the explosion and the fires it ignited could be seen wafting over the town for many hours afterwards.
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,The area close to the blast was engulfed in smoke following the explosion
Ten people are still missing. "We are doing all that is humanly possible to locate them," said President Luis Abinader, who visited the site of the explosion on Tuesday.
Dozens of people were injured and many remain in hospital.
Image source, EPA
Image caption,Relatives of the missing and the injured waited for news outside the town's main hospital
Hundreds of firefighters are still trying to extinguish the flames in four of the nine buildings which caught fire.
Image source, EPA
Image caption,Fires have continued to burn hours after the explosion, with firefighters still operating in the area
The explosion ripped through the town, on the south-western outskirts of the capital Santo Domingo, on Monday afternoon.
Its exact source has not yet been pinpointed. Among the buildings destroyed are a hardware shop, a veterinary clinic and a plastics' factory.
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