Gegham Stepanian, Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, said 105 other people went missing and remain unaccounted for.
The explosion, which destroyed the gasoline storage facility outside Stepanakert, also left 290 Karabakh Armenians wounded. In Stepanian’s words, 168 of them were transported to hospitals in Armenia earlier in the day: 96 by helicopters from Armenia and belonging to Russian peacekeepers, and 72 patients by ambulances accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The blast occurred as tens of thousands of Karabakh residents fled to Armenia following an Azerbaijani offensive that paved the way for the restoration of Baku’s control over the region. Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of cars parked near the depot, waiting to fuel up and head to Armenia.
Another Karabakh official told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the blast was most probably an accident caused by “negligence.”