DistantNews
Support us
🇵🇰 Pakistan /Disasters & Emergencies

Blasts at Bolivian army base kill two and injure dozens

From Dawn · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Two explosions at an army base in Viacha, southwest of La Paz, killed at least two soldiers and wounded 81 people, authorities said.
  • Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said pyrotechnic material was stored at the base, but investigators had not determined the cause.
  • Seven people were missing, and the blasts damaged nearby homes, while earlier police figures put the number of wounded at 59, most of them civilians.

Two explosions ripped through an army barracks in Viacha, southwest of Bolivia’s administrative capital La Paz, killing at least two people and injuring 81, authorities said. The blasts struck at about 2:30 p.m. local time, or 1830 GMT.

Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said pyrotechnic material had been stored at the base. He said the exact cause remained under investigation. The defence ministry identified the dead and missing as soldiers serving at the base, and said seven people were still missing.

The injured were taken to medical centres, including two people in serious condition. An earlier police report gave a lower toll of 59 wounded, at least 52 of them civilians, indicating that the reported figures had changed as the response continued.

Local media footage showed a thick column of black smoke rising over the city centre. The explosions also damaged homes in the area, shattering windows, breaking ceilings and scattering debris. Firefighters rushed to the base after the blasts.

Pyrotechnic material

· Ernesto JustinianoBolivia’s defence minister described the material stored at the army base.
About this summary

Originally published by Dawn in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog