Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 11 July / corr. Trend T.Zhukov / Threat of new blasts at artillery stores in Kagan has not passed, an official at the Emergency Situations Ministry on Bukhara region of Uzbekistan told Trend . "Mass evacuation of people still continues here, including suburbs of Bukhara city, the regional centre," he said over telephone.
The Defense Ministry's experts, who came from Tashkent, do not exclude that a big amount of ammunitions, including those filled with toxic substances, have remained at Kagan store, which was built in 1972. It was cleared up that even high-ranking officials of the Defense Ministry did not know the exact amount of ammunition.
According to preliminary data, military store in Kagan blasted because of carelessness and violation of safety regulations. Local authorities immediately denied the version of terror attack. A manager of the five-star Bukhara Palace hotel, located in the centre of Bukhara, told Trend through telephone that all foreign guests urgently left the hotel by buses. They are evacuated from the city under the control of police cars. The Emergency Situations Ministry employees insistently recommended the personnel of the hotel to leave the city.
Trade and passenger traffic were practically paralyzed in Bukhara. Evacuation has also begun in densely populated areas southeast of the center (nearby Kagan). "People are terribly horrified and the city is in shock..." the manager of the hotel said.
Kagan city is located directly near Bukhara. There is a huge rail junction and station in this city. The railway station has partially destroyed as a result of chaotic blast shells, official data urge.
Operating management of Uzbekistan havo yullari (the Uzbek airlines) company said all nearest flights Tashkent-Bukhara and Bukhara-Tashkent were cancelled. The Bukhara International Airport, located in outskirts of the city, works in emergency routine.
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