At least 27 people have died and 59 injured due to an explosion in a commercial area of a town in the Dominican Republic. This was announced by the authorities yesterday as the blast rocked the small town of San Cristóbal. 

The explosion on Monday and the resulting fire that is still partially burning two days later, affected nine buildings, and partially destroyed four. The cause of the blast, which was less than 30 kilometers away from the capital Santo Domingo is still unknown. 

Meanwhile, President Luis Abinader said, all that is humanly possible is being done to locate the missing. 37 out of the total injured people have been hospitalized. 500 firefighters and other rescue officials were sent to the scene, with search dogs used to clear the debris.