In Ulaanbaatar, the Capital of Mongolia, a truck carrying sixty tons of liquefied natural gas crashed and exploded on Wednesday, killing at least six persons, including three firemen, according to Mongolian officials.

The fire near the Dunjingarav market claimed the lives of at least 11 individuals, according to a Facebook post from Mongolia’s Emergency Management Office. The agency received a call on the event around 1:04 a.m. (1704 GMT Tuesday, January 23, 2024), according to its chief, G. Ariunbuyan, who spoke with a local source

The fire was ultimately put out with the assistance of more than 600 firemen working in 100 trucks.

In a Facebook post, Emergency Management stated, “Unfortunately, three officers of the 63rd Fire Fighting and Rescue Unit of the National Fire Service were killed as a result of the accident while performing their duty.”

Deputy Prime Minister S. Amarsaikhan of Mongolia told TenGer TV that a preliminary investigation revealed that the truck collided with a tiny automobile, resulting in an instantaneous explosion, followed by another explosion that severed a portion of the truck and killed the firemen there.

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Online news sources in the area report that the fire swiftly spread to many surrounding structures, including a residential structure. Numerous vehicles caught fire.

The News Agency in Russia stated that the local occupants of residences nearby were instructed to leave.

TenGer TV was informed by an unidentified homeowner that the impact of the initial blow demolished the balcony and smashed his windows.

Another resident claimed that she and the other inhabitants had to forcefully escape the building as flames neared the exit. When they escaped, she said the fire had already reached the upper level.

Living within 100 meters (yards) from the explosion, eyewitness Erdenebold Sukhbaatar stated that at first, he believed there had been an earthquake or an aviation accident. He stated that, he observed an explosion and that the fire swiftly spread to the next apartment block as he ran to his living room.

The lawyer, forty years old, broadcast the action live on Facebook. The Deputy Prime Minister, Amarsaikhan, stated that while there have been no deaths reported from the apartment complex, “we cannot guarantee that the casualty count will not increase” while the inquiry and emergency protocols are still in progress.