Blasts triggered by a fire at a Kazakh munitions storage facility killed nine servicemen and firefighters and wounded 90 others, authorities in the central Asian nation said on Friday.
The ministry’s statement mentioned emergency services workers and military staff among victims of the blasts that tore through a defense ministry ammunitions depot in the southern region of Jambyl on Thursday.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Four people remained missing, the government said.
It is unclear what caused Thursday’s fire at the military base in the southern province of Zhambyl where engineering explosives were stored, Defence Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev told a briefing.
The soldiers and firefighters died while trying to put out the fire which triggered ten blasts, he added, saying the stored explosives had come from a facility in the town of Arys after a similar 2019 event there which killed four people.
Separately, Yermekbayev told Azattyk, the local outlet of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, that he tendered his resignation after the accident.
Authorities evacuated hundreds of people from the nearby area and closed the main road linking the province to the biggest city of Almaty.
Videos posted online showed that the explosion took place not far from a major road connecting provincial center Taraz to Almaty, the country's business hub and biggest city.
Read more:
Four killed in Kazakhstan military plane crash
Plane crashes after takeoff in Kazakhstan, 12 dead, dozens injured
Also Read
-
Kazakhstan to introduce mandatory workplace vaccination
-
Kazakhstan blocks access to LinkedIn over alleged fake accounts, gambling ads
-
Kazakhstan rebuffs talk of joint sanctions response with Russia
-
Kazakhstan parliamentary elections lacked ‘genuine’ competition: Monitors
-
Four killed in Kazakhstan military plane crash