Death toll from an explosion at a fuel storage depot in Azerbaijan-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, a region primarily inhabited by Armenians, climbed to 68, according to the Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Ombudsman.
Of the 68 bodies, only 21 have been identified by the Stepanakert Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, the Ombudsman said late Tuesday.
There are also 105 people missing from the incident, which occurred on Monday night at a fuel storage facility while thousands of ethnic Armenians were evacuating the disputed region following Azerbaijan’s swift military takeover last week.
The number of wounded remains 290, of which 168 have been receiving medical attention in Armenia.
The cause of the blast remains unclear, but Nagorno-Karabakh presidential aide David Babayan said initial information suggested that it resulted from negligence, adding that sabotage was unlikely.
Armenia’s health ministry said a helicopter brought some blast victims to Armenia on Tuesday morning, and more flights were expected.
The Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh also provided helicopters to carry victims to Armenia.
Armenian authorities also said that they brought 125 bodies over to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh for identification. The country’s Health Ministry clarified that all of those were killed in the fighting last week.
Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesian said at a press conference that 67 people were receiving treatment at the National Center for Burns of the Ministry of Health and their condition was “extremely serious.”
Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said on X, formerly Twitter, that hospitals in Azerbaijan were ready to treat victims. Azerbaijan has sent in humanitarian aid, he said.
Azerbaijan also said Tuesday that 33 U.S. tons of gasoline and 37 U.S. tons of diesel fuel were being sent into the region.
Gasoline has been in short supply in Stepanakert for months, and the explosion further added to the shortages, compounding anxiety among many residents about whether they will be able to drive the 22 miles to the border.
Source: arkansaonline.com