The condition of two injured servicemen, who received burns from the fatal fire in the barracks of a military unit, remains severe. Hripsime Khachatryan, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health of Armenia, informed Armenian News-NEWS.am about this today.

She added that the injured are under medical supervision at the intensive care unit of the National Center of Burns and Dermatology.

Khachatryan noted that the condition of the other soldier, who also sustained burns in the aforesaid fire, is assessed as moderate and satisfactory.

At around 1:30am on Thursday, a fire broke out in the accommodation of the engineer-sapper troop of the military unit located in the territory of Azat village of Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province. Fifteen servicemen have died as a result of this fire, and seven others were injured. Four of the latter were discharged from hospital after receiving medical treatment, whereas three others were transferred to the National Center of Burns and Dermatology in capital Yerevan.

Immediately after the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and seven other high-ranking military personnel were relieved of their positions.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government that an officer had poured gasoline in the stove of the aforesaid accommodation. After which, when the fire had gotten to him, he had thrown—with a self-protective instinct—the 5-liter can of gasoline in his hand towards the accommodation, and this had caused the fire.

Criminal proceedings have been launched into this incident.