(Reuters) -The death toll after Monday's explosion near the capital of the Dominican Republic has risen to at least 27, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing the head of an emergency response service in the Caribbean country.

Juan Manuel Mendez, the head of the country's Emergency Operation Center (COE), told CNN all people were now accounted for following the explosion in a hardware store in a commercial part of San Cristobal, some 14 miles (23 km) from the capital.

Authorities were still unsure what caused the explosion, CNN said. The national health service had earlier reported that the initial victims included a four-month-old baby.

In a bulletin late on Tuesday, COE said 59 people were wounded in the explosion and more than 500 people and 32 ambulances had been mobilized.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Jose Joseph in Mexico CityEditing by Valentine Hilaire and Matthew Lewis)