A massive explosion followed by a large blaze occurred early Thursday morning at a warehouse in the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent, according to Reuters and AFP news agencies, citing local media reports.
Several videos circulating on social media showed a huge column of fire and smoke billowing into the night sky.
The blast happened at a warehouse close to Tashkent’s airport, according to Reuters, citing local news site Daryo.
Russian state news agency Tass citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan said that a fire broke out in one of the warehouses in city’s Sergeli district after the facility was struck by lightning.
The warehouse was owned by Inter Logistics LLC, the ministry said, according to Tass.
Flights appeared to continue to depart and arrive from Tashkent’s international airport overnight and into Thursday morning local time, according to data from Flightradar24.
With nearly 3 million residents Tashkent is the largest city in the Central Asian, former Soviet state.
