MOSCOW (Reuters) – The death toll from an explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday has jumped to 125, Interfax Azerbaijan reported on Tuesday, citing the Armenian health ministry.
The number of victims rose sharply after the Karabakh authorities reported 20 dead on Tuesday morning.
The blast occurred as thousands of ethnic Armenians flee the breakaway enclave after their fighters were defeated by Azerbaijan in a lightning military operation.
The bodies of those killed in the blast, near Stepanakert, Karabakh’s capital, have been transported to Armenia, the Armenian health ministry said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the explosion had resulted in hundreds of burn victims. The ICRC said that it was delivering medical assistance to those suffering from burns and evacuating some people by ambulance, citing full hospitals and traffic as challenges.
As of 1600 GMT on Tuesday, at least 28,120 of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who call Nagorno-Karabakh home had already crossed into Armenia, the Armenian government said.
(Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Gareth Jones and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
