An explosion of undetermined origin killed at least three people on Sunday and left dozens injured in a commercial area of ​​Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the authorities of this Caucasian country announced.

“According to preliminary data, an explosion occurred that started a fire,” the Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement, reporting three deaths and some 40 people still hospitalized.

The ministry also released the names of 25 people whose relatives were missing, believing they might be trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building.

A very popular place

The origin of the explosion, which occurred in the early afternoon at the Surmalu wholesale market, was not immediately known. This place is traditionally very busy on Sundays.

Videos and photos circulating on social media showed a thick column of black smoke rising into the sky. In a video, we could hear several detonations in succession, like crackling.

The explosion caused a building to collapse and rescuers removed the rubble with bulldozers to try to find survivors. Ten survivors were pulled from the ruins by rescuers, as well as one body, the ministry for emergency situations said.

Many volunteers were also present, struggling to move mounds of concrete blocks and twisted metal bars by hand.

Not far away, firefighters equipped with water hoses, some on ladders, dotted the smoldering ruins of a building with a facade blackened by flames. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, some 200 firefighters and rescuers were deployed to the blast site, as well as several trucks and construction machinery.