Shocking photos have laid bare the devastation caused by a massive explosion which levelled warehouses in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent on Thursday.

The savage blast, which killed a teenage boy and injured more than 160 people, rang out in the early hours of Thursday morning and was felt by people more than 20 miles away such was the power of the shockwave.

Aerial shots of the scene released today showed how half of the warehouse was completely destroyed, with charred and twisted wreckage strewn across hundreds of square feet of scorched earth.  

Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations did not say what was inside it to cause the explosion, while Russian state media Tass later reported that the warehouse contained several dozen electric vehicles and batteries.

Some local reports claimed the explosion was caused by a lightning strike which ignited the batteries, but others dismissed the theory and instead said explosives were likely being held in the warehouse – though this was not confirmed by authorities. 

Terrifying footage shared on the Telegram messaging app showed how the warehouse fireball erupted hundreds of feet high lighting up the night sky.

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These images from Maxar Technologies show an aerial view of the warehouse before and after the blast

A handout photo made available by the Government of Uzbekistan shows Uzbek firefighters extinguishing flames at the site of an explosion at a warehouse in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 28 September 2023

Uzbekistan’s ministry of emergency situations did not say what was inside it to cause the explosion

A powerful explosion rocked Uzbekistan after midnight with reports of a fireball hundreds of feet high lighting up the night sky

A customs warehouse at the airport has exploded according to Uzbek news website Daryo said

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a site of a warehouse in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Flame and smoke rise as firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a site of a warehouse in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Dozens of ambulances ferried the wounded to hospitals as day broke on Thursday morning, while sixteen separate fire teams were deployed to extinguish the enormous blaze which covered more than 32,000 square feet.

Some 162 people were treated for injuries, the health ministry said.

At least five children suffered wounds from shattered glass. 

Footage of the scene in the morning showed several locals inspecting their shattered windows and damaged homes, while smoke could still be seen rising as firefighters battled to control the blaze. 

A social media post from Uzbek outlet Daryo said 16 fire and rescue crews were sent to fight the fire at one of the warehouses in the city’s Sergeli district near the airport. 

The Uzbek Interior Ministry was initially reported as saying ‘lightning struck a warehouse where electric cars and batteries were stored, causing a massive explosion and fire in Tashkent’.

Later there were doubts that lightning had been a factor in the explosion.

Batteries for electric cars exploded at the airport warehouse, causing the destruction of the building in the shock wave, Russia’s Mash media outlet claimed. 

Soot and flaming debris rains over Tashkent following the huge explosion

The remnants of the warehouse are seen burning following the huge blast which rocked the city

Mobile phone footage captured the blaze in Uzbekistan, which reportedly stemmed from an explosion in an airport warehouse

Smoke could still be seen rising into the sky this morning after the thunderous explosion in the night

A man shows damages in his house after the explosion rocked the ex-Soviet state in the early hours

The blast wave was felt by residents of Nurafshan, a town south of Tashkent, some 20 miles from the epicentre of the explosion. Pictured: Firefighters at the scene

The ministry later said it was working to establish full details of the cause of the explosion

The blast wave was felt by residents of Nurafshan, a town south of Tashkent, some 20 miles from the epicentre of the explosion.

‘In some social media, fake news spread that the incident in the Sergeli district was a result of a plane crash. This is an absolute lie,’ said the Uzbek Emergencies Ministry.

The ministry later said it was working to establish full details of the cause of the explosion.

Uzbekistan is the most populous of the central Asian former Soviet republics, and fires attributed to dilapidated equipment and poor adherence to safety standards are common there.

Accidents of this magnitude, however, are still rare.