An explosion at an ammunition depot in the Ayyash area of western Deir el-Zour province on Friday killed six people and injured nine others, according to Syrian officials.
The Deir el- Zour provincial government said in a statement that specialised search teams recovered the bodies of six people from the site and that operations continued Saturday to find an unspecified number of people still missing.
The site was cordoned off following the explosion and authorities launched an investigation into the cause and circumstances, the statement said.
According to SANA, the state news agency, the Syrian Defence Ministry confirmed that an explosion took place at an army location in Ayyash and said authorities are investigating the cause and assessing the damage.
Earlier reports said that a series of explosions occurred inside the ammunition depot and emergency, civil defence and medical teams were deployed to the area. The cause of the explosion is still unknown.
