Another body found at Bolivian military base, raising explosion death toll to eight

The discovery of a soldier’s body beneath the wreckage at a Bolivian military base raised the death toll from Friday’s explosions to eight. Six other people remain missing, and the causes of the blasts are still under investigation.

Rescuers found a name tag bearing the surname “Ignacio” on the dead soldier’s uniform. The Defense Ministry said the remains were presumed to belong to Álex Ignacio Mamani, a soldier assigned to the Second Group of the Viacha Military Garrison Center. Police took the remains to the morgue for identification by relatives.

Earlier, rescuers found the body of Sergeant Freddy Mauro Quisbert Vega, an instructor at the Center for the Maintenance of Military Equipment. The explosions struck the General Maintenance Center of the RAM-2 “Bolívar” Mechanized Artillery Regiment in Viacha, an high-altitude municipality about 35 kilometers from La Paz. The blasts damaged the base and nearby homes, whose residents were temporarily evacuated.

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We are announcing a national mourning period that, beyond mourning, means not forgetting that we are all one family. Although we have differences and different ways of thinking, we are a Bolivian family that must move forward through this complicated and difficult moment, with the courage to move forward.

The Health Ministry said 53 of the 84 injured people had been discharged and 31 remained in hospital. Three were in delicate condition. President Rodrigo Paz declared national mourning and ordered inspections of explosives storage facilities at every military unit in Bolivia.

“We are announcing a national mourning period that, beyond mourning, means not forgetting that we are all one family,” Paz said. “Although we have differences and different ways of thinking, we are a Bolivian family that must move forward through this complicated and difficult moment, with the courage to move forward.”

Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said a preliminary report identified two detonations. One allegedly involved black powder used in pyrotechnic material stored at the site. The second explosion was “considerably greater” in magnitude, and its cause had not yet been technically determined. Prosecutors opened an investigation into suspected negligent homicide, negligent injuries and other forms of damage.

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considerably greater