As Yermekbayev said at a press briefing, "four servicemen have died while eliminating the consequences" of the accident." He added that several people are still missing.
"We are not ruling out various causes: this could be a violation of safety requirements, spontaneous firing, or chemical reaction. Arson or sabotage are also not ruled out," the minister stressed.
The explosion at a military unit in the southern Kazakh city of Taraz occured on 26 August. The Kazakh Defence Ministry said that the blast was caused by a fire near one of the military unit's warehouses.