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The death toll from explosions at a Bolivian army base has risen to nine, all of them soldiers, after rescuers recovered three additional bodies from the rubble, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
Two powerful explosions tore through a barracks in the city of Viacha, about 30 kilometres southwest of La Paz, on Friday.
The military facility was used to store confiscated fireworks, grenades and TNT-based explosives, according to the ministry.
The cause of the blasts remains under investigation, while the local prosecutor’s office has opened a case over possible manslaughter and other offences.
“The Army reported on Monday the discovery of a ninth body in the rubble,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The dead included a sergeant and eight young soldiers who were carrying out their mandatory military service.
Five soldiers were still missing, while firefighters continued clearing debris from the damaged buildings under the protection of a large police contingent, local media images showed.
Health Minister Marcela Flores said earlier that 31 of the 84 people injured in the explosions remained hospitalised.
Army Commander Hector Alarcon said the barracks housed about 240 soldiers, although most of them were outside the compound when the explosions occurred.
President Rodrigo Paz, who visited the site, said on Monday that all explosive materials considered capable of causing further detonations had been removed from the facility.
The government has also begun an internal investigation to establish responsibility for the incident and determine the quantity of explosives that had been stored at the base, including confiscated fireworks.
