By Mark Dovich
As of Wednesday morning, two people remain unaccounted for following Sunday’s large explosion at the popular Surmalu shopping strip in Yerevan, according to a tally kept by the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Rescue crews and volunteers from the Red Cross continue to comb through the wreckage.
The authorities in both Yerevan and Stepanakert declared national days of mourning on Wednesday and Thursday in response to the blast, which left 16 people dead and 62 injured. The vast majority of those who were injured have been discharged from the hospital.
On Sunday afternoon, a large explosion at a warehouse storing fireworks ripped through Surmalu, a large wholesale and retail shopping strip located close to central Yerevan.
The blast and an accompanying fire destroyed large portions of the shopping strip and led to the partial collapse of a nearby three-story building. The wreckage covers an area equal to about one and a half American football fields.
Armenian officials have ruled out terrorism as a cause of the explosion, noting that footage of the blast — which continues spreading widely online — does not suggest a bomb had been intentionally planted. As of now, it remains unclear what caused the fireworks to detonate.
Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan has estimated that up to four tons of explosive materials were stored at Surmalu at the time of the blast.
The Prosecutor General’s office has opened a criminal investigation into the explosion, citing possible breaches of fire safety regulations. The Investigative Committee continues to interview survivors and eyewitnesses.
As of Wednesday morning, no one has been criminally charged in connection with the blast, according to Gor Abrahamyan, an advisor to the prosecutor general.
Earlier, the Urban Planning, Technical and Fire Safety Inspection Body, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, said it found over a dozen fire safety violations at Surmalu during an inspection last March.
The agency gave Surmalu’s management until the end of last year to address the violations and did not carry out any further inspections. Irina Madatova, a director at the shopping strip, told Radio Azatutyun Tuesday that management had complied with the agency’s orders, without elaborating.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and a number of other high-ranking officials visited the blast site Monday to survey the damage, but Pashinyan has not commented publicly on the tragedy.
A number of Pashinyan’s political allies, however, have called for a ban on the sale of fireworks in response to the Surmalu blast, including former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan and lawmaker and former Health Minister Arsen Torosyan.
Condolences continue to pour in from regional governments and foreign embassies in Yerevan.
