Hamit Dibra, 69, the owner of the apartment where the powerful explosion on Wednesday afternoon is suspected to have started, has been found dead under the rubble of a 5-story building in Elbasan. With the discovery of his body, the number of victims from the tragedy in the “Beqir Dardha” neighborhood has risen to two.
The body of the 69-year-old was found by Armed Forces search and rescue teams after hours of searching among the ruins of the building.
As VNA reported the day before, Hamit Dibra is suspected of having placed a gas cylinder in the garage of the building, which he had connected through pipes to the kitchen of his apartment. Preliminary suspicions are that the explosion may have come from this installation, but the causes have yet to be determined by the experts.
The explosion was so powerful that it collapsed the walls and stairs of the palace, while three floors of the building merged into one.
The first victim of the tragedy was Hatixhe Berisha, 83, who lived in the apartment next to the one where the explosion occurred.
Ten other people suffered asphyxiation and received medical attention at the hospital. Their lives are out of danger.
The building has been declared uninhabitable due to severe structural damage. Residents have been evacuated, while authorities are taking measures to rehabilitate them.
The expert is expected to determine whether the suspected gas installation in the building's garage was the cause of the explosion that killed two people and destroyed the building.
