An explosion at a military base in the Bolivian city of Viacha killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more on Friday afternoon, according to local officials.
Viacha's health director, Rita Nebraska, told a local television channel that between 10 and 15 people were feared dead, while 62 others were injured. She said 14 of the injured had been admitted to hospitals in La Paz, including a girl suffering from third-degree burns. Bolivia's Defence Minister, Ernesto Justiniano, said most of those injured were ordinary civilians.
Officials said the explosion occurred at around 2:30 pm local time on Friday, at a site where fireworks belonging to the Defence Ministry were being stored.
Local police said more than 50 people were injured in the blast, the sound of which was heard from far away. Several nearby homes were damaged, with windows shattered in most of them. Ambulances, medical teams and police personnel were dispatched to the military complex to move the injured to health centres.
Nebraska said firefighters had warned that a heat source remained active at the site, raising the risk of a further explosion. Residents were asked to stay at least 150 metres away from the site. Medical teams, ambulances and police have been placed on alert to respond to any emergency.
The exact cause of the explosion has not yet been established. Officials confirmed only that it originated from the Defence Ministry's stock of fireworks at the site. An investigation is currently under way, and officials have largely declined to comment further on the incident.