One person was killed and 162 injured by a powerful explosion on Thursday at a warehouse near Tashkent's airport that sparked a fire and shattered windows in apartment blocks nearby, authorities in Uzbekistan said, APA reports citing Reuters.
A teenage boy died after a window frame fell on him, the health ministry said in a statement, adding that 24 people had been hospitalised, but faced no threat to their lives, while 138 were treated for injuries.
Flights were operating as normal at the international airport in the capital, its administration said.
In video and photographs on social media, flames soared into the night sky, with a huge cloud of smoke hanging above the warehouse, but the cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.
A special laboratory had been set up at the scene to investigate the blast, the emergencies ministry said.
"As a result of the quick actions of emergency ministry employees, the area of the fire is being reduced," it added on the Telegram messaging app.
"The situation is completely under control."
A social media post from Uzbek outlet Daryo said 16 fire and rescue crews were sent to fight the fire at one of the warehouses in the city's Sergeli district near the airport.
*** 07:31
A powerful explosion occurred near the airport of the Uzbek capital Tashkent overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, local media reported, with authorities saying a fire had resulted in injuries.
According to witnesses cited by the news website Nova24, the explosion took place at a customs warehouse near the airport, with videos circulating on social media showing a column of flames and smoke rising into the night sky.
The health ministry said that a “fire” had been reported during the night at the warehouse and that an unspecified number of injured people had been taken to hospital.
“At the moment, there are not any seriously injured among them. Right now, doctors are furnishing all necessary medical assistance,” the ministry said on Telegram.
“Emergency medical care is also being provided to people injured in the fire at the scene of the accident and in the surrounding apartments.”
Uzbekistan is the most populous of the central Asian former Soviet republics, and fires attributed to dilapidated equipment and poor adherence to safety standards are common there.
Accidents of this magnitude, however, are still rare.
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