At least 16 people were killed Sunday in Syria by an enormous explosion that civil defence officials say was caused by a trash merchant handling an antique bomb.
On Saturday, a four-storey building in the Mediterranean city of Latakia was destroyed by a blast that also tore down concrete slabs and crushed residents beneath pieces of their wrecked dwellings.
Five children were among the bodies that rescue workers removed during the night while they looked for survivors.
Sixteen, according to Syria’s civil defence force, were murdered “as a result of an explosion in a hardware store” in the apartment complex.
According to a Telegram post, “Search and rescue operations continue to recover those trapped,” adding that at least 18 people have been casualties.
Images released by Syria’s SANA news agency showed a heap of debris where the building had once been and a plume of smoke rising from the congested southern suburb of Al-Rimal in Latakia.
A scrap merchant had handled an unexploded munition to retrieve the metal, according to the news agency.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also called the explosion an “accident”.
– ‘Completely destroyed’ –
Latakia resident Ward Jammoul, 32, told AFP that the structure had been “completely destroyed” due to a “loud blast” she heard.
Crowds of people and rescue professionals had arrived to “look for those trapped under the rubble,” she said.
Last month, the humanitarian organisation Humanity and Inclusion issued a warning about the risks presented by unexploded munitions from the 2011 Syrian civil conflict.
Between 100,000 and 300,000 of the approximately one million explosives used throughout the conflict, according to analysts, never detonated.
On Saturday, the explosion occurred as Syrians gathered for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad to mark the 14th anniversary of their uprising.
On March 15, 2011, hundreds of people participated in nonviolent protests against Assad’s regime, which marked the start of the Syrian conflict.
After he put down the protests, it later descended into civil war.
The remembrance this year follows the overthrow of Assad by militant-led rebels on December 8.
The militant organisation that led the offensive, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has since been appointed provisional president.
