The Investigative Committee has not yet received the conclusion of the forensic medical examination regarding the fire as to what caused the death of 15 servicemen in that fire. Gor Abrahamyan, the spokesperson of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this.
At around 1:30am on January 19, a fire broke out in the accommodation of the engineering-sapper platoon 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 them were discharged from the Vardenis town hospital after receiving medical treatment, whereas three others with severe burns were transported to National Center of Burns and Dermatology in the capital Yerevan.
The identification of the bodies of the 15 servicemen who died in the fire has been completed, and their remains have been handed over to their parents.
Criminal proceedings have been launched into this incident. But no one is a suspect or an accused yet within the framework of these criminal proceedings.
Immediately after the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and seven other high-ranking military personnel were relieved of their positions.
A few hours after the incident, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the 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.
But later, the platoon commander told reporters that there was no gasoline in the accommodation, essentially refuting the PM. The Military Prosecutor also stated that it is not yet clear whether it was gasoline or diesel fuel.
Five days after this fire, the Ministry of Defense has not yet published the names of the 15 dead servicemen. Armenian News-NEWS.am, however, collected information about all these soldiers.
