Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have issued a joint statement about the fire that broke out at the Republican Drug Abuse Treatment Center at around 6:10AM local time on Thursday.
The State Fire Protection Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations sent firefighters to the scene. The Ministry of Education also sent a medical team to provide first aid.
The Interior Ministry’s detached police regiment as well as Khatai district police ensured protection of the area for rescuers to operate uninterrupted.
As a result of the operative measures taken, 34 out of 55 people were rescued from the building. Three of them were placed at the Republican Toxicology Center of the Ministry of Health.
The fire was extinguished at 09.13. The bodies of 24 people were found during the inspection of the scene.
Under the instruction of the president of Azerbaijan, the Prosecutor’s General Office initiated a criminal case, and an investigative team consisting of experienced officers of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations was set up.
According to preliminary investigation, the fire was caused by a short circuit in the building’s electrical network.