Death toll from fuel tank explosion in Nagorno Karabakh rises to nearly 70

MADRID, 26 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh have raised the death toll to 68 and 290 injured due to the explosion of a fuel depot in the region, taken by the Azerbaijan Army after a military operation that began on September 19. and that lasted just 24 hours.

According to a statement from the Arstaj Human Rights Office - the official name of the Nagorno Karabakh republic - on its social networks, more than 170 of the injured have been evacuated to hospitals in Armenia thanks to the collaboration of Armenians, Russians and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The authorities have specified that, for the moment, more than twenty of the deceased have been identified. In addition, there are more than a hundred missing people, although the toll may increase as the work of the emergency services and the collection of information continue.

The Ministry of Health of Arsaj said on Monday in a statement published on its account on the social network Facebook that "as a result of the large explosion at a fuel depot in Askeran", dozens of people had been injured, many of them with burns. serious.

Following the event, the Armenian Ministry of Health also reported in a statement on its website that it was sending a helicopter with a medical team, medicines and medical supplies to the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh, to assist in the care efforts. the wounded.

For its part, the Presidency of Azerbaijan highlighted that it had sent an ambulance with medical supplies to treat burn injuries and other material across the road between Aghdam and Jankendi to treat the victims, as reported by the Azerbaijani state news agency. , Azertag.

Just a few hours before, an official Azeri delegation agreed with Armenian representatives from Nagorno Karabakh on the delivery of humanitarian aid, the deployment of health services and a joint working commission to restore basic services and rehabilitate the region's infrastructure.

The Nagorno Karabakh region is a territory of about 4,400 square kilometers in the South Caucasus recovered by Azerbaijan after its latest offensive last week. Until then, the area, with an Armenian majority, had been under the control of pro-Armenian forces for more than three decades despite the fact that the international community recognized the region as Azeri sovereignty. About 120,000 Armenians live in the area.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinian, stated on Sunday that the possibility of the Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region moving to Armenia as part of the reintegration of the territory into Azerbaijan is increasing, before warning of the danger of a "ethnic cleansing".

The Azeri authorities have maintained at all times that their intention is for these people to remain in their homes and have promised to respect their rights, although they have indicated that members of pro-Armenian armed groups and the Armenian Armed Forces must hand over their weapons and leave. from the country.