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The mayor’s office said an unidentified number of people were trapped under the rubble after an explosion hit a market in Yerevan.
At least one person has been killed and several unidentified people are trapped in the rubble after a powerful explosion tore through a retail market in the Armenian capital Yerevan, officials said.
Rescuers are working to pull people out of the rubble, Levon Sardaryan, a spokesman for the mayor of Yerevan, told the AP news agency.
Maria Titizian, a journalist based in Yerevan, said the market building had collapsed and was still burning. The number of casualties is expected to rise, she said.
“It’s a very busy market in the afternoon and that’s why at the moment it’s difficult to give exact numbers,” she said.
“According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the fires started in a place where fireworks were sold, which they believe was the cause of the explosions but at this time it is not possible to confirm,” Titizian said.
The Emergencies Ministry said there were 10 fire engines on site, and 10 more were on their way to Surmalu market, located about 2km (1.2 miles) south of the city centre.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed a thick column of black smoke engulfing the market as successive explosions rang out.
The emergency ministry said at least 20 people were injured in the blast.
