Death toll rises to 170 in the explosion of a fuel tank in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh

The number of Karabakhs killed in the explosion last Monday of the fuel depot in the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, Stepanakert, now amounts to 170, as reported this Friday by local emergency services.

“So far, a total of 170 mortal remains have been found and transferred to the forensic office,” the local police reported to the official Armenian agency Armenpress. According to this source, the remains will be transported to Armenia for identification through DNA analysis.

The last time the Karabakh authorities reported the death toll in the accident was this Wednesday, when they stated that 68 people had died. Then there were still 105 people missing, in addition to almost 300 injured in total, many of whom had to be evacuated to Armenia to receive treatment in burn units.

The accident occurred this Monday in the midst of the evacuation of Karabakhis displaced to Armenia after the Azerbaijani military operation on the 19th that de facto ended the self-government of the enclave populated until now by 120,000 Armenians.

Thus, the citizens of Nagorno Karabakh desperately search for gasoline to begin their trip to Armenia, which can last more than 20 hours due to the traffic jams that form in the Lachin corridor, reopened by Azerbaijan after more than nine months of blockade.

Since last Sunday, almost 85,000 Karabakhs have left their homes, which represents more than 70% of the population that previously inhabited this separatist territory belonging to Azerbaijan but which was populated by Armenians.