The death toll from the explosion at a hardware store in the Al-Raml Al-Janoubi area of Latakia, Syria, has risen to 15, with 18 others reported injured.
According to the Syrian Civil Defence, rescue teams retrieved the bodies of a woman and her child from the rubble of a collapsed residential building shortly after midnight, bringing the total number of fatalities to 15. This includes four women and five children. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing, and it is feared that the toll could rise further.
The explosion, which occurred on Saturday, took place in a hardware store situated on the ground floor of a four-storey building. It injured 18 people, including six children. Some of the victims’ identities remain unidentified, and efforts are continuing to locate those still trapped under the debris.
The Civil Defence stated that the explosion likely resulted from the detonation of ‘war remnants’ stored within the warehouse. Reports suggest that an individual attempting to dismantle these remnants inside the store triggered the blast, leading to the tragic event.
Rescue teams are working tirelessly amid the rubble, searching for any survivors and recovering additional victims.
