The death toll in an explosion and fire at a propane gas filling station in the Uzbek city of Ferghana has risen to four, and five people have been arrested as part of a criminal investigation into the incident, according to authorities.
The Internal Affairs Department of the Ferghana region also said on Telegram that the blast happened when a crack appeared during the filling of a gas container. Emergency responders previously attributed the explosion to safety failures at the site of the explosion on Tuesday afternoon.
One person died at the scene and three others later died of their injuries after being hospitalized, the internal affairs statement said. It said authorities are seeking to detain two other people in addition to the five already in custody.
Images posted on social media show sheets of flame and thick smoke billowing from the scene. The Qalampir.uz site posted photos of the fire. A photo report on the Kun.uz media site showed the Petroleum station that was gutted by fire and damaged cars.
A Kun.uz reporter who spoke to witnesses said there had been unease among people in the area about the presence of a liquefied gas station in the city’s Yangiyo‘l neighborhood, a populated area with residential buildings. Gasoline was initially sold at the station and propane was connected several months ago, according to the report.
“The cars were burning right on the roadway. There is a cafe and a kindergarten next to the gas station, and new houses are being built,” the media outlet quoted witness Khamidjon Madrakhimov as saying.
Children in the kindergarten were evacuated to nearby apartments before their parents arrived to take them away.
