Syrian group: Death toll in blast in rebel town rises to 67
AP
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BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian search-and-rescue group says the death toll from an explosion that destroyed two apartment buildings in a rebel-held town in the country’s northwest the previous day has risen to 67.

The Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, says rescuers were still searching through the rubble in Sarmada on Monday, looking for survivors from the blast. It says 35 wounded people have already been found.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a slightly higher death toll, saying 69 died, including 17 children. The Observatory says 52 of the victims were civilians; the rest were militants or couldn’t be identified.

The Observatory said an arms depot in the basement of a building had detonated, bringing down two five-story apartment buildings. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Top photo: This photo is provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian White Helmet civil defense workers remove a body from the rubble at the scene of an explosion that brought down a five-story building, in the village of Sarmada, near the Turkish border, north Syria, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. Syrian opposition activists say the explosion killed several people and wounded many others. The cause of the blast wasn’t immediately known. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)