14 soldiers remain missing after explosions at Bolivian barracks

Fourteen soldiers were still missing Saturday after two explosions tore through a barracks in Viacha, southwest of Bolivia’s capital, La Paz. Search teams were working at the site, the barracks commander, Antonio Amaru, told AFP.

The blasts killed two conscripts, aged 18 and 19, who were in the first year of their compulsory military service. More than 80 people were injured, according to the commander, while Bolivia’s Defence Ministry identified the two dead soldiers.

Bolivia’s defence minister said Friday that the first explosion was believed to have involved pyrotechnic material stored at the barracks. A second, more powerful explosion followed, but officials did not know what caused it.

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They have not moved a single stone, not even a piece of cement, they have not moved anything. My nephew is still under the rubble.

Streets in Viacha remained covered in rubble Saturday, and several windows had been shattered. AFP journalists saw relatives confronting police officers who had formed a shield line to keep them from entering the barracks. Some relatives tried unsuccessfully to push through.

“They have not moved a single stone, not even a piece of cement, they have not moved anything. My nephew is still under the rubble,” Adolfo Copa told AFP. Other relatives said they wanted to know which soldiers were still missing.

Viacha authorities declared three days of mourning, while local prosecutors investigated the cause of the explosions. President Rodrigo Paz expressed solidarity with “the families of the dead, the injured and all residents affected by the explosions” and said on X that he had ordered a thorough investigation.

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The families of the dead, the injured and all residents affected by the explosions