 "Unexploded bomb from Syria's civil war days 'accidentally' blows up, kills 16")
A massive explosion, believed to have been triggered by a scrap dealer handling an old bomb, has killed at least 16 people in Syria’s coastal city of Latakia, civil defence officials said on Sunday (March 16).
The blast, which occurred on Saturday (March 15), destroyed a four-storey building in the crowded southern neighbourhood of Al-Rimal. The explosion tore through the structure, sending slabs of concrete crashing down and burying residents beneath the debris.
Rescue teams worked through the night, pulling bodies from the rubble, including those of five children. At least 18 others were injured, according to Syria’s civil defence unit, which said search and rescue operations were ongoing to recover those still trapped.
Images shared by state-run SANA news agency showed a thick plume of smoke rising above the densely packed area, while rescuers sifted through the wreckage where the building once stood. SANA reported that a scrap dealer had unknowingly handled an unexploded munition in an attempt to extract metal, setting off the devastating blast.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the explosion as an “accident”.
‘Completely destroyed’
Ward Jammoul, a 32-year-old Latakia resident, told AFP that she heard a “loud blast” before discovering the building had been reduced to rubble.
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More Shorts“Rescue workers and crowds of people gathered to look for those trapped under the debris,” she said.
The humanitarian organisation Humanity and Inclusion recently warned of the serious threat posed by unexploded ordnance left behind from Syria’s long-running conflict. The group estimates that between 100,000 and 300,000 of the roughly one million munitions used during the war remain undetonated, posing an ongoing risk to civilians.
Saturday’s explosion came as Syrians marked the 14th anniversary of the uprising against former president Bashar al-Assad, the first such commemoration since he was toppled by Islamist-led rebels in December last year.
The Syrian conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against Assad’s rule, which were brutally suppressed, igniting a protracted civil war. The country remains fractured, with power now shifting to interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, who leads the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that spearheaded the offensive against Assad’s government.
The blast in Latakia highlights the enduring human toll of Syria’s war, even as the political landscape continues to shift.
With inputs from AFP
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