BREAKING: MASSIVE explosion at fireworks factory in Armenia kills at least two

A huge explosion at a fireworks factory in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, has killed at least two, with around 60 injured.

According to Armenia’s health agency, an explosion this morning, Sunday, August 14, at a fireworks factory just south of the country’s capital of Yerevan, has left at least two people dead. There are also believed to be more than 60 people injured after the blast tore through the Surmalu marketplace.

Video footage of the incident uploaded onto social media shows thick clouds of black smoke rising into the air. Local residents fled the scene in terror while others desperately dug through the remains of the market halls trying to find trapped family members, according to dailymail.co.uk.

A strong explosion at a fireworks storage area tore through a popular market in Armenia's capital, setting off a large fire and killing at least one person. https://t.co/Xg7vI7MROw pic.twitter.com/XFWXbxuDMX

— ABC News (@ABC) August 14, 2022

A huge fire resulted from the initial explosion and quickly spread, causing a terrifying chain reaction that ignited another batch of fireworks which subsequently blew up. Firefighters can be seen tackling the fatal blaze, the cause of which has not yet been established said the authorities.

A spokesperson for the local health authorities confirmed that two people had died in the blasts, but that the toll could eventually be higher. Armen Pambukhchyan, the Armenian emergencies minister spoke of two sisters who had been rescued from the debris alive.

However, according to the TASS news agency, an Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations spokesperson told them that they had been contacted by at least 20 people who reported family members missing who were known to have been at the market.

New footage of a monstrous explosion in the capital of #Armenia appears on the social media. pic.twitter.com/tnEgKcUdKC

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 14, 2022

Armenia’s health ministry spokesperson said that 11 children were among those injured in the explosions, with 36 people in moderate to critical condition in hospital. They added that 22 other patients have already been discharged.