More than 200 injured
Explosion in tank farm in Nagorno-Karabakh – region calls for air rescue
September 26, 2023, 7:29 a.m
In the midst of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a catastrophe occurs in the region: an explosion in a fuel depot leaves more than 200 injured and there are also reports of fatalities. Medical care for people exceeds the region’s capacity.
More than 200 people have been injured in an explosion at a fuel depot in the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is reported by the Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gegham Stepanyan, on X, formerly Twitter. Stepanyan did not provide any information about possible fatalities. It is still unclear what caused the explosion.
Of the more than 200 injured, the majority were “severely or extremely seriously” wounded, Stepanyan said. They would have to be transported elsewhere by plane because Nagorno-Karabakh is not able to adequately treat all the injured. Stepanyan wrote that Nagorno-Karabakh does not have the medical capacity to help the injured. The air rescue team must urgently be allowed to land “in order to save human lives,” he demanded.
Earlier, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities reported an explosion at the fuel depot near the road between Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijani city of Askeran. There was talk of “dead and injured people”.
On Tuesday last week, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. Just one day later, the pro-Armenian fighters of Nagorno-Karabakh had to accept a ceasefire agreement. The authorities of the self-proclaimed republic agreed to negotiations on its reintegration into the territory of Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law, but the area is predominantly populated by Armenians. Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over the area for years.