Blast Kills Dozens in Myanmar

A blast on Sunday at a building in northeastern Myanmar said to have been storing explosives for mining killed more than 45 people, according to rescue workers and independent media reports. About 70 other people were injured in the explosion that took place around noon in the village of Kaungtup, in Namhkam township, the AP reports. The area, located about 2 miles south of the Chinese border, is under the control of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, an ethnic armed group that has engaged in sporadic fighting against Myanmar's central government.

A rescue worker who rushed to the site told the AP that 46 bodies, including those of six children, had been recovered by Sunday evening and taken for cremation. Rescue operations were continuing. Another rescuer in Namhkam said more than 100 houses near the blast site were damaged. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that according to preliminary investigations, the blast occurred at a site where large quantities of explosives used for mining operations were stored. The Ta'ang National Liberation Army said in a statement on its Telegram channel that gelignite had been stored by the group's economic department for use in mining and stone quarrying sites. Gelignite is widely used in mining and rock blasting, but can become highly unstable over time and if poorly stored.