Three dead in Baku home explosion
An explosion occurred in a one-story wooden house in the centre of Baku earlier today, resulting in a fire that killed the entire family of three.
The explosion occurred on the morning of 9 January. The load-bearing wall collapsed, and the rest of the house burned down completely. After extinguishing the flames, firefighters discovered the dead bodies of a man, his wife and daughter.
Neighbours say this house was supposed to be demolished, but the owners refused to move out because they were not satisfied with the amount of monetary compensation offered to them – a common story in Baku.
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Neighbours also said that another house was demolished in the area yesterday, resulting in an intermittent gas supply. They believe that the owners of the home may have forgotten to turn off the gas during one of these episodes.
No official statements on this issue have been made yet, but an investigation is underway.
Domestic gas leaks or gas cylinder explosions are common causes of fires in residential buildings in Azerbaijan. In November last year, a gas leak caused an explosion in a high-rise building in the city of Ganja in which three people died. Earlier, in May, two people died because of a gas cylinder explosion in a Baku cafe.
