At least six people, including three firefighters, were killed when a truck carrying 60 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) collided with a car and exploded in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, on Wednesday (Jan. 24).
The Mongolian Emergency Management Office said that 11 more people were injured in the fire that occurred near the city's Dunjingarav market, with the agency's chief G Ariunbuyan telling local media that they received a call about the incident at 01:04 local time (17:04 UTC Tuesday, Jan. 23).
Firefighters in Full Force
According to Reuters, over 600 firefighters were involved in putting the fire under control before fully extinguishing it.
"Unfortunately, as a result of the accident, three officers of the 63rd Fire Fighting and Rescue Unit of the National Fire Service were killed while performing their duty," the Emergency Management Office said in its Facebook post.
Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister S Amarsaikhan added that two explosions happened, the first as an immediate result of the crash, while the second ripped off a part of the truck, which killed the three firefighters at the scene.
Several nearby structures, including a residential building, as well as several cars were burned as a result of the explosion.
