Authorities within the Dominican Republic say it may take months to establish all the 27 victims who died in a strong explosion close to the nation’s capital this week
Firefighters put out a fireplace after a strong explosion in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Monday, Aug 14, 2023. The Monday afternoon explosion killed at the least three folks and injured greater than 30 others, authorities stated. (Jolivel Brito/Diario Libre by way of AP)
The Related Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities within the Dominican Republic stated on Thursday that it may take months to establish all the 27 victims who died in a strong explosion close to the nation’s capital this week.
The announcement got here as family and friends maintain making an attempt to verify whether or not their family members died in Monday’s explosion at a bakery within the metropolis of San Cristobal, simply west of Santo Domingo. Fifty-nine folks had been injured, with the vast majority of them nonetheless hospitalized.
The explosion came about mid-afternoon in a bustling business space within the metropolis middle, crammed with companies, together with a financial institution and a ironmongery shop.
An investigation continues to be underway as to what precipitated the explosion, and authorities have stated they may maintain accountable any enterprise that was not working correctly. It took firefighters three days to extinguish the blaze, which officers stated unfold from the bakery to the ironmongery shop subsequent door, after which to a close-by furnishings retailer.
Solely seven of the 27 our bodies discovered have been recognized and turned over to their households, Santo Jiménez, a forensics institute director, stated at a information convention. It might take as much as three months to establish a number of the victims, he stated. Authorities are working with household and mates who may present useful particulars reminiscent of any presence of tattoos or scars, he added.
Jiménez stated just one physique of the 20 that stay on the morgue is undamaged.
Monday marked the second time that San Cristobal, the birthplace of dictator Rafael Trujillo, was affected by a serious explosion. An arms depot exploded in October 2000, killing at the least two folks and injured greater than two dozen others, forcing authorities to evacuate hundreds.