At least 14 people were killed and 11 others injured on Wednesday after an explosion tore through a temporary weapons and war-remnants depot near the city of Sarmada in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, according to Syrian authorities.
The blast triggered fires and secondary explosions that complicated emergency operations, while authorities have not yet announced what caused the explosion.
Emergency teams were dispatched to the site in Burj al-Nimra village in the northern Idlib countryside immediately after the explosion, according to Syrian state media.
Thick smoke from fires at the site billowed into the air for hours, while secondary explosions prevented firefighting crews from quickly bringing the flames under control.
Rescue teams continued searching through rubble for survivors, and bodies were recovered from the scene.
Syria’s Defence Ministry said some of its personnel were among those injured in the explosion.
The Idlib health department described the reported 14 deaths and 11 injuries as a preliminary count.
The Defence Ministry said the site was being used to temporarily store weapons, munitions and other remnants from Syria’s uprising and civil war before they were relocated elsewhere.
Authorities have not clarified what triggered the initial explosion at the storage facility.
The incident was the second deadly ammunition-related explosion reported in Idlib province this month.
On September 1, a vehicle carrying ammunition exploded in Binnish, killing five people and wounding others, according to Syrian state media.
Wednesday’s explosion near Sarmada therefore follows another fatal incident involving volatile military material in the province within little more than a week.