Death toll rises to 25 as Dominican firefighters find more bodies in this week's explosion
CTV
The death toll from a powerful explosion in the Dominican Republic this week rose to 25 on Wednesday, with firefighters still trying to extinguish the ongoing blaze, a high-ranking Civil Defense official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The death toll from a powerful explosion in the Dominican Republic this week rose to 25 on Wednesday, with firefighters still trying to extinguish the ongoing blaze, a high-ranking Civil Defense official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the number of missing remains at 10 because forensic officials are still trying to determine whether the additional bodies found correspond to those missing.
The emergency responders still have not been able to fully access the building where the explosion occurred Monday at a bakery in the city of San Cristobal, which lies just west of the capital of Santo Domingo.
Anguished friends and family have been pacing outside hospitals and morgues in anger and frustration, saying no one has been providing them information.
Meanwhile, authorities are probing what might have caused the explosion, vowing to crack down on any business that might not have been following regulations.
Ito Bisono, minister of industry and commerce, told reporters that officials already have determined there were no tanks of any type in the area, adding that he is waiting on authorities to investigate what happened.
"It was of great magnitude," he said of the explosion.
