World

Death toll in Peru tanker explosion rises to 14: Ministry

January 26, 2020
A fireman walks past the tanker truck that exploded in a Lima neighborhood, killing several people and igniting houses and cars in this on Jan. 23, 2020 file photo. — AFP
A fireman walks past the tanker truck that exploded in a Lima neighborhood, killing several people and igniting houses and cars in this on Jan. 23, 2020 file photo. — AFP

LIMA — The death toll in the explosion of a gas tanker in Lima rose to 14 following the death of a woman hospitalized with severe burns, Peru's Deputy Health Minister Victor Bocangel said on Saturday.

Bocangel, who met with a group of patients injured by the blast, told reporters that the latest victim was 39 years old.

The dead also included five children and a 40-year-old man from Venezuela, the ministry said earlier.

Nearly 50 people were injured, many seriously, when a tanker truck carrying 10,000 liters of liquefied gas exploded early Thursday, igniting a major fire that destroyed several houses and vehicles in the capital's Villa El Salvador district.

Investigators believe the explosion was caused when a fuel hose became detached as the tanker truck passed over a speed bump as it approached an intersection.

The driver, initially reported to have died in the crash, in fact survived. — AFP


January 26, 2020
60 views
HIGHLIGHTS
World
hour ago

Baltimore bridge collapse: Divers find two bodies in submerged truck

World
hour ago

US urges fair legal process for India opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal

World
hour ago

Gaza starvation could amount to war crime, UN human rights chief says