A violent explosion struck Batna, Algeria, completely destroying a four-story house and plunging an entire neighborhood into confusion and panic. The provisional toll stands at two dead and fourteen injured, according to Civil Protection.
The victims who died, aged 46 and 52, were found in the rubble of the building reduced to ruins. Among the injured, aged 11 to 80, several were urgently evacuated to the local hospital to receive intensive care.
According to initial findings by local authorities, the blast was reportedly caused by a buildup of gas inside the building. However, evidence collected on site as part of the investigation has opened another line of inquiry.
According to sources close to the emergency services and the counterterrorism investigation unit, the building may have housed clandestine activity linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices by a small group currently being identified. An accidental mishandling of unstable substances is believed to have triggered the detonation, turning what may have been an illegal workshop into the scene of a disaster.
The house was completely flattened by the force of the explosion, also damaging several neighboring buildings. Residents describe a shockwave of extreme violence, heard several kilometers away.
This new tragedy adds to a series of explosions that have occurred in the region in recent years, fueling a persistent climate of concern.
Authorities are continuing their investigations to determine precisely the exact circumstances of the incident and any possible accomplices.