“At the moment, there are 16 confirmed casualties, 14 of whose identities have been confirmed,” Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Davit Hambaryan told journalists.
In response to the journalists’ question about if there is any danger at the moment, the deputy minister stated the following, “Cooling works are still being carried out in the part of the building that is still standing. There is no danger of explosion, but there may be light smoke sources. Through video surveillance, we are trying to find out what is inside. It is not possible to enter the building. It is dangerous for the rescuers.”
How is it that the number of victims increases, but the number does not change according to the summarized data? The deputy minister answered, “I told you the official figures provided by the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. We do not rule out that there may be some technical problems.”
He also added, “There are people responsible for the area whom we are working with in order to understand the layout of the building and what additional data can be provided to assist with search and rescue works.”
Read also
The deputy minister stated that he does not have information on whether anyone has been held accountable for what happened.
Is it clear in which area the explosion took place? What details are known? Davit Hambaryan said the following about this: “Information is processed and adjusted together with our services. We want to understand in which sector what we have dealt with and what we are dealing with. Essentially yes, we have information on where there have been accumulations. The explosion took place in the middle of the building, which was the epicenter of the collapse.”
The deputy minister said that they hoped a miracle would happen and some people would have been found alive, but that hope, according to him, is diminishing.
Gohar Hakobyan
