LA PAZ — Bolivia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that three more bodies were recovered from the rubble of Friday’s explosions at an army facility in Viacha, raising the death toll to six, AFP reported. Eleven personnel and conscripts remained missing as searches continued.
Viacha, a city of more than 100,000 about 30 kilometers southwest of La Paz, housed confiscated fireworks, grenades, and TNT-based explosives, the ministry said. Three of the dead were confirmed as soldiers; identities of the other three recovered bodies were not immediately verified. Shockwaves tore roofs off structures, uprooted trees, and damaged dozens of nearby civilian homes. The Viacha prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry into manslaughter and related offenses while the precise cause remains under investigation.
Former president Evo Morales sharply criticized President Rodrigo Paz’s handling of the disaster; AFP and regional outlets also cited earlier figures of roughly 84 injured.
Sources: AFP via TRT World; AFP via NAMPA.
