Two dead, 14 people missing after Bolivia army base blasts

At least 14 people are missing after two explosions at a military base in Bolivia that left two dead and more than 80 injured, the base commander said Saturday. 

The blasts occurred Friday afternoon at a base in the town of Viacha, 30 kilometres southwest of La Paz.

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"Fourteen uniformed personnel who were in the area affected by the two explosions at the Viacha military base have not yet been located," base commander Colonel Antonio Amaru, said in a statement, adding that search-and-rescue efforts were continuing.

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Initially, the government said seven were missing.

Among the missing are a sergeant and 13 conscripts aged 18 and 19 performing their mandatory one-year military service.

The cause of the blasts is under investigation.

In a report Friday, Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said the first explosion involved "black powder, corresponding to pyrotechnic material stored at the site," while the cause of the second, larger explosion was being analysed.

The mayor of Viacha, Jenrry Patzi, tearfully complained that his city of 114,000 inhabitants "doesn't even have a single secondary-level hospital to handle this."