A blast in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia killed at least three people and injured 12 on Saturday, state media reported.
“The blast in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Latakia city has so far resulted in three deaths and 12 injured,” state news agency SANA said citing provincial authorities.
It added that “civil defence teams and residents are still searching for others injured and missing”.
War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion was caused by unexploded ordnance.
It described the blast as an “accident” resulting from a resident’s attempt to dismantle unexploded ordnance in the building.
A resident of the city, Ward Jammoul, 32, told AFP that she heard a “loud blast”, adding that she “headed to the site and found a completely destroyed building”.
She said civil defence personnel and ambulances were present at the site, alongside “a large number of people who had gathered to look for those trapped under the rubble”.
An image carried by SANA showed a large plume of smoke rising over a populated neighbourhood.
This is a developing story.
(AFP)
