Search Continues for Missing People as Armenia Mourns Victims of Market Explosion – Asbarez.com

Armenia on Wednesday began observing a two-day national mourning period for the victims of an explosion at the Surmalu shopping center in Yerevan, which left 16 people dead and dozens of injured. Authorities, however, continued search operations to locate what is not two people who are still missing after the blast.
The blast occurred on Sunday at around 1:30 p.m. local time and is believed to have caused by a fire near a fireworks depot. On Tuesday, Armenia’s authorities reported that that four tons of explosive and flammable materials were housed in the Surmalu building. The use, sale and purchase of fireworks is not regulated in Armenia.

Armenian flags on the government headquarters and other building flew at half mast. The clock on the main building at Yerevan’s Republic Square was set to the time that the explosion occurred. The government of Artsakh also declared a two-day mourning period in memory of the shopping center blast victims.