The explosion took place in a commercial area a few kilometers from the Dominican capital. The balance at the moment is at least 10 dead, 37 injured and 11 missing. Firefighters battled a fire all Monday afternoon and late into the night, leaving the powerful explosion in that commercial area in the Dominican Republic’s capital, President Luis Abinader said Tuesday when offering an updated balance sheet.

The explosion that occurred Monday, around 3:10 p.m. local time (7:10 p.m. GMT), shook San Cristóbal, 15 miles (24 km) south of Santo Domingo.

“My word of deepest condolences to (the families of) the 10 people, men, women and children, who have been reported dead so far,” said Abinader, who visited the disaster area with ministers.

“We are doing everything possible (…) to investigate the situation of 11 missing persons,” the president added. “There are about 37 people hospitalized (in health centers) with varying levels of impact.”

After the explosion, a fire and a gigantic column of smoke started.

It has not been determined how the blast, which hit several businesses, including a hardware store, a veterinary clinic and a plastics factory, as well as a public prosecutor’s office building, has not been determined.

Abinader pointed out that “an investigation will be conducted to determine the origins and causes of this terrible accident”.

Firefighters try to put out the blaze after an explosion at a commercial establishment in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, on August 14, 2023. Photo: AFP

“Meanwhile, we need to save lives of those who are affected and injured and we are going to do this without any constraints on resources so that we can save every human life we ​​can, with God’s help,” he added. .

Several vehicles were burned and were removed from the site with excavators.

search for missing

Images featuring missing persons’ faces and phone numbers have gone viral on social networks.

At hospitals near the area of ​​the tragedy, dozens of people gathered to see if their relatives, who they believed were in the area when the explosion happened, had been hospitalized.

“We want to know what happened to our relative,” Daysi Rodríguez told the press. “It was supposed to be here, but it’s not on the list.”

Preliminary information indicates that the explosion occurred at a hardware store, sparking a large-scale fire that spread to other nearby locations and caused extensive damage, sources in the area said. Photo: AFP

About 500 members of the security forces, civil defense and firefighters have been deployed to the area, according to the minister of the presidency, Joel Santos. Fangs are used to search under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

“The windows of the house were moving very strongly and I thought it was an earthquake,” a witness told Listín Diario newspaper. “I thought they would break.”

The city’s mayor, José Montás, told the media outlet that authorities hoped that “in the coming hours, the fire will be completely extinguished so that all technicians, firefighters and executive officers can understand the cause or cause of the explosion.

The area was evacuated and militarized, according to the local press, which reported injuries and burns of 30% to 40% of their bodies.

San Cristóbal is the fourth most populous province in the country, with 688,828 of the 10 million inhabitants of this Caribbean country.