Huge explosion rocks Tashkent airport in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan: a fireball hundreds of meters high lights up the night sky and destroys nearby houses, while locals claim the blast was heard thirty kilometers away
- A warehouse at Tashkent airport in Uzbekistan exploded early this morning
- Local reports describe a fireball hundreds of meters high destroying nearby homes
A powerful explosion rocked Uzbekistan after midnight, with reports of a fireball hundreds of meters high lighting up the night sky.
According to the Uzbek news website Daryo, a customs warehouse at the airport exploded.
Flights at Tashkent International Airport appeared to take off and land normally, data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed.
A notice to pilots issued at 10:15pm GMT yesterday said a runway at the airport would be closed for take-off and landing between 2am and 7pm today, but part would be available to taxis. No reason was given.
A powerful explosion rocked Uzbekistan after midnight, with reports of a fireball hundreds of meters high lighting up the night sky
According to the Uzbek news website Daryo, a customs warehouse at the airport exploded
Mobile phone footage captures the fire in Uzbekistan, which was reportedly the result of an explosion at an airport warehouse
The Health Ministry said a “fire” had been reported at the warehouse overnight and an unspecified number of injured people had been taken to hospital.
‘There are no serious injuries among them at the moment. At this time, doctors are providing all necessary medical assistance,” the ministry said on Telegram.
“Emergency medical assistance is also being provided at the scene of the accident and in the surrounding apartments to people injured in the fire.”
Uzbekistan is the most populous of the Central Asian former Soviet republics, and fires blamed on dilapidated equipment and poor adherence to safety standards are common there.
However, accidents of this magnitude are still rare
According to a post by Daryo on social media, the Ministry of Emergency Situations received a call that a fire had occurred due to a strong explosion in one of the warehouses in the Sergeli district of the city.
Fire and rescue crews and vehicles have arrived on scene and are currently extinguishing the fire, the post said. Details of injuries and deaths from the fire were not yet known.