Curitiba: Brazilian authorities announced that 9 people – 6 men and 3 women – were killed in an explosion at an explosives factory in southern Brazil.

According to Qatar News Agency, a spokesperson for the fire department said the explosion occurred in Curitiba, the capital of Parana state, resulting in the destruction of buildings within a radius of approximately 1.5 kilometers. Officials from Enax Brazil, the company that owns the factory, stated that the cause of the incident is still under investigation.

The State Secretary of Public Security, Colonel Hudson Leoncio Teixeira, informed reporters that there is no longer any hope of finding survivors among the nine people who were at the site. Search operations under the rubble continued for several hours. Seven injured individuals were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.