At least six people, including three firefighters, were killed in an explosion after a truck carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) crashed into a car in Mongolia.
The massive ensuing blaze on Wednesday in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, injured 11 people at an intersection near Dunjingarav market, Mongolia’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
The truck was carrying 60 tonnes of LNG. The fireball engulfed several nearby buildings, including a residential one, while many cars were charred.
Pictures shared by emergency services also showed windows blown out at a nearby school after the accident outside a shopping centre.
Residents of a nearby apartment block were temporarily relocated, NEMA said, adding that roads around the area were closed as the authorities worked to clean up the site.
More than 600 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the fire in an operation that involved 100 vehicles.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the accident, three officers of the 63rd Fire Fighting and Rescue Unit of the National Fire Service were killed while performing their duty,” NEMA said in a post on Facebook.
Ten of the injured people were taken to a hospital with burns and a child was being treated for poisoning.
Richard Buangan, the United States ambassador to Mongolia, said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the tragic accident” and extended his condolences to NEMA staff in a post on X.
The European Union’s ambassador to Mongolia, Axelle Nicaise, said she was “shocked and devastated” by the accident.
