LIMA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a gas tanker explosion in the Peruvian capital has risen to 13, health authorities said on Saturday.
Director General of the Health Ministry Monica Mesa released the latest figure at a press conference held in Lima. Health authorities earlier put the death toll at eight.
In addition, Daniel Koc Gonzalez, head of Pediatrics Department at the National Institute of Child Health, said that seven minors were wounded, and four of them were left with 80 to 99 percent burns.
They are in critical condition and are receiving treatment from specialists, Gonzalez said. "We know that the task is difficult, but we will not lose faith."
A gas tanker crashed and exploded on Thursday morning in the Villa el Salvador area of Lima, damaging 20 nearby homes.
The Minister of Housing, Construction, and Sanitation, Rodolfo Yanez, said that 14 of the affected residences would be renovated within the next 30 days, while the other six, would be demolished and rebuilt within three months.
