Blasts ripped through a fireworks warehouse in a shopping mall in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, killing one and injuring at least 45 people, Russian news agencies cited the Armenian emergencies ministry as saying.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed a thick column of black smoke over the site and successive detonations could be heard.

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Reuters photographs taken soon after the explosions showed extensive damage to a concrete building and people clearing rubble that partially covered cars parked nearby.

Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze as fireworks continued detonating, complicating the search and rescue operation, TASS cited the head of the ministry's rescue service as saying.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fireworks to detonate.

The ministry said there were 10 firefighting trucks on the site and another 10 were on their way.