Explosion in Syria's Latakia kills 16 people
A powerful explosion triggered by an old bomb killed at least 16 people, including five children, and wounded 18 others in Syria’s coastal city of Latakia on Saturday.
The blast demolished a four-storey building, ripping down slabs of concrete and crushing residents underneath chunks of their flattened homes.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the blast was an "accident" triggered when a scrap dealer handled an unexploded munition in an attempt to recover the metal.
Last month, aid agency Humanity and Inclusion warned of the dangers posed by unexploded munitions left over from Syria's 14-year civil war.
It said experts estimated that between 100,000 and 300,000 of the roughly one million munitions used during the war never detonated.
Video footage shows civil defence teams, ambulances and local residents at the scene of the explosion. Civilians are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
A local resident, Ward Jammoul, 32, told AFP that she heard a "loud blast". She said she "headed to the site and found a completely destroyed building".
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