In Azerbaijan, explosion of telecommunication centre kills two and wounds five

In the city of Masally in Southern Azerbaijan, the rescue and search operation is completed in the venue of the explosion in the building of the district telecommunications node. Bodies of two casualties - Kishvyar Shakhverdieva, 55, an employee of the telecommunication node, and Asim Aliev, 28, head of the technical division of the enterprise, - were extracted from under the ruins.

Other five persons were hospitalized: three of them are stable, and two - of medium gravity, as the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was at the administration of the Masally District.

The law enforcement authorities refrain from official comments and moving possible versions of what had happened.

At the same time, Azerbaijani TV Channels indicate, among versions, the emergency condition of the building, erected back in 1984. It is noted that the tenants of the building made use - in violation of technical safety regulations - a gas bottle, the leakage of which could cause the explosion.

The blast has damaged the nearby houses and structures; in particular, windows in some apartments were knocked out. Their tenants were temporarily evacuated.

A former law enforcer, who preferred remaining anonymous, gave his comments to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on possible reasons of the explosion. Based on the character of destructions, he finds the version of detonation of explosives unlikely. According to his version, it looks like the building was originally incorrectly built; its exterior walls were not properly connected with the flooring structures. Therefore, even an explosion from gas leakage could have such strong devastating consequences, because the collapse of the walls of lower floors led to depression of the walls and upper floors.

Let us remind you that on February 7 at about 2:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. Moscow time) in the city of Masally, located 250 km south of Baku on the border with Iran, an explosion happened at the central telephone exchange. According to eyewitnesses, the explosion was of great power; as a result of which a section of a 4-storey building completely collapsed.

Azerbaijan very often suffers from explosions of gas leakages. According to specialists of the "Azerigaz" distribution company, the reason is in improper use of gas appliances by the population and use of Iran-made gas devices, which fail to meet technical standards of safety.