A powerful explosion occurred at a customs warehouse in Tashkent (3 photos + 10 videos)

Law enforcement officers find it difficult to name the cause of the emergency.

At about 02:55 local time (01:55 Moscow time), an explosion occurred and a fire started at customs warehouses in the Sergeli district of Tashkent, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan reports.

The warehouses are located not far from the Islam Karimov International Airport, so some social networks began to spread the version about the plane crash, but this is absolutely untrue, the Ministry of Emergency Situations emphasized. By the way, the explosion was accidentally filmed by a passenger on a plane taking off from the airport.

Even the residents of Nurafshan could feel the blast wave - this city is located 30 km from the epicenter of the explosion.

Official sources report that the warehouse was struck by lightning, causing the warehouse owned by Inter Logistics LLC in the Sergeli district of Tashkent to catch fire. However, local residents report that they did not observe any lightning. Meanwhile, the fire that started was so strong that the flames were visible from afar. 16 fire brigades were sent to the scene of the emergency. Ambulances and paramedics hospitalized the victims. Residents of nearby houses were evacuated.

The cause of the emergency was also said to be batteries allegedly stored in the warehouse, but a warehouse representative said that there were no explosive goods there. Nothing that could provide a spark. The first refrigerated warehouse where the fire occurred contained margarine, sunflower oil, mayonnaise and ketchup.

The Interlogistics logistics complex, where the emergency occurred, provides various services for receiving, storing, customs clearance and sending cargo. And what exactly was in the warehouse at the time of the explosion remains to be determined by law enforcement officers.

According to company representatives, none of the warehouse workers were injured. The Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan stated that there were victims, they were taken to the Republican Scientific Center for Emergency Medical Care and its branch in the Tashkent region. All of them had minor injuries: abrasions and cuts. We are not talking about hospitalization. At 5.22, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan, the fire was localized.

It is known that the owners of houses damaged by the explosion on the Kuruvchi massif will be compensated for damage.