Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS

Armenian Parliament to consider tightening the rules for organizing fireworks

Emil Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – Aug 17 2022

During the fall session the National Assembly will consider a draft on tightening the rules for organizing fireworks, Tigran Avinyan, former Deputy Prime Minister and member of the board of the Civil Contract Party, told journalists at the scene of the explosion at Surmalu shopping center.

“Back in 2021, the Government discussed a project that would limit the use of fireworks. We should be able to give up that culture,” he said.

According to the former deputy prime minister, the explosion has nothing to do with a terrorist act.

“Storing around four tons of fireworks in one place is dangerous, and one small spark can have such consequences. Even if the world’s best ventilation system is there, the presence of four tons of explosive material is already a danger,” he said.

Sixteen people have been confirmed dead, two are missing after a powerful explosion rocked Surmlu shopping center in Yerevan. The fire caught up at a warehouse where tons of firework materials were stored.

Bomb threat made at Gyumri international airport, railway station

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 17 2022
12:42, 17.08.2022

A letter was received Wednesday in the Email address of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) of Armenia that bombs had been planted at the Shirak International Airport and at the railway station Gyumri. MES spokesperson Hayk Kostanyan informed Armenian News-NEWS.am about this on Wednesday.

“Evacuations took place at the airport and the station, now bomb detection works are being carried out. Departures and arrivals are not scheduled at Shirak airport today and tomorrow,” Kostanyan added.

PM Pashinyan visits the scene of Surmalu blast

Emil Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – Aug 15 2022
, 10:13

 Less than a minute

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the scene of the blast at Yerevan’s Surmalu shopping center, where an explosion took place on August 14.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Mayor of Yerevan Hrachya Sargsyan, the Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan, the director of the rescue service Armen Gasparyan, the head of the Office of Coordination of Inspection Bodies Artur Asoyan.

Prime Minister Pashinyan was briefed on the process of search and rescue works.

https://en.armradio.am/2022/08/15/pm-pashinyan-visits-the-scene-of-surmalu-blast/

Rescuers hear sounds under rubble of Surmalu shopping center

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 15 2022
20:48, 15.08.2022

Rescuers have just heard sounds from under the rubble during search and rescue work at the Surmalu shopping center, the rescue workers of the Armenian Emergencies Ministry’s Press Service told NEWS.am.

This gave the rescuers hope that there may be a survivor under the rubble.

The deaths of seven people have already been confirmed.

AP: Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 7

Emil Lazarian

Aug 15 2022

Armenian officials say that the death toll in a fireworks storage explosion in the country’s capital has risen to seven

ByThe Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia — The death toll in a fireworks storage explosion in Armenia’s capital has risen to seven, officials said Monday, as rescuers combed through wreckage hunting for victims.

Photos from the scene showed emergency services and volunteers searching for victims amid slabs of concrete and twisted metal while firefighters hosed down the blasted shell of the storage building.

A powerful blast tore through a fireworks depot at a popular market in Armenia’s capital on Sunday, setting off a massive fire that sent a towering column of thick smoke over the center of Yerevan.

Officials initially said two people were killed, but the death toll has kept rising as the search continues. Another 21 people, including five Iranian citizens and one Russian, remain missing and at least 61 others were injured.

The market, located 2 kilometers (over a mile) south of the city center, is popular for its low prices and variety of goods.

There was no immediate word on what caused the fireworks to ignite, but officials ruled out a terror attack.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/death-toll-fireworks-depot-blast-armenia-reaches-88390635 


ALSO READ

Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 7 – WNYT.com NewsChannel 13
https://wnyt.com/associated-press/international/death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-armenia-reaches-7/

Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 7 (greenwichtime.com)
https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-Armenia-17373687.php
Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 7 – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-armenia-reaches-6/2022/08/15/e02fefca-1c7a-11ed-9ce6-68253bd31864_story.html
Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 6 – ABC17NEWS
https://abc17news.com/news/2022/08/15/death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-armenia-reaches-6/
Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 7 | National Post
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-armenia-reaches-6
Death toll in Armenia fireworks depot blast reaches six (msn.com)
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/death-toll-in-armenia-fireworks-depot-blast-reaches-six/ar-AA10Gd1B

Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 6 – KION546
https://kion546.com/news/ap-national-news/2022/08/15/death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-armenia-reaches-6/
Death toll in Armenia fireworks depot blast reaches six (irishexaminer.com)
https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40940474.html
Death toll in fireworks depot blast in Armenia reaches 6 – KSTP.com Eyewitness News
https://kstp.com/associated-press/ap-us-international/death-toll-in-fireworks-depot-blast-in-armenia-reaches-6/ News




Armenpress: Death toll in Yerevan market explosion reaches 5

Emil Lazarian

UPDATED: Death toll in Yerevan market explosion reaches 5

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 08:16,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. The death toll in the market explosion reached 5, with another 16 people missing, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

One of the 5 victims is still unidentified.

185 firefighter-rescuers, 20 water tanks from City Hall, a dozen trucks, tractors and multiple other equipment are working on the scene.

The urban search and rescue teams from the provinces of Shirak and Tavush are also dispatched to the area.

The Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Response Center is assisting the Rescue Service of the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations in overcoming the consequences of the explosion and determining the cause.

A strong explosion ripped through the Surmalu market just outside the city center around 13:23, August 14.

The prosecution said the investigators are looking into all possible versions. However the criminal case is opened on Violation of Fire Safety Rules Causing Deaths and Violating of Safety Rules for Storing, Transporting, Using or Supplying Flammable or Incendiary Materials Causing Death.

Initially it was reported that the building which caught fire and subsequently exploded was a fireworks warehouse. 

UPDATES:

08:58 – Authorities report the death toll reached 6 

Photos by Hayk Manukyan




Prime Minister Pashinyan inspects search and rescue operations at deadly explosion site

Emil Lazarian

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 09:30,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the area of the Surmalu market in Yerevan in the morning of August 15.

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Mayor of Yerevan Hrachya Sargsyan, Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan, Rescue Service Director Armen Gasparyan and the Head of the Coordinating Office of Inspection Agencies Artur Asoyan accompanied the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan was briefed on the search and rescue operations and the firefighting efforts, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Earlier on August 15 authorities said the death toll in the explosion reached 6.

Putin offers condolences over Yerevan market explosion

Emil Lazarian

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 14:00,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. President of Russia Vladimir Putin sent a letter of condolences to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the deadly explosion that hit a market in Yerevan on August 14.

“I express my deepest condolences on the occasion of the deaths that were caused by the fire in a trade center in Yerevan. Please, convey to the families of the victims words of most sincere sympathy and support, and wishes of speedy recovery to all those injured,” President Putin said in the letter published by the Kremlin.

Yerevan market blast: Race against time to find possible survivors under rubble

Emil Lazarian

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 15:10,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. The more time passes the less chances of finding anyone alive under the rubble, a senior firefighter working at the Surmalu market said.

“It is clear that the more time passes the more chances of finding anyone alive is diminishing. The rescue operations don’t stop, we take into account the risks, safety precautions, we must eliminate he risks to be able to work. There is a risk of structural collapse, there are steel-concrete structures hanging, we must remove them and then carry out the search. Besides, using a tractor in this rubble could harm possible survivors under the rubble,” deputy chief of the rescue forces Bagrat Vardazaryan told reporters.

Right now there are 150 firefighter-rescuers deployed, with an additional 102 volunteers from the Armenian Red Cross Society and 15 volunteers from VOMA – a survival-training organization.

Photos by Tatev Duryan




Yerevan market explosion: List of missing persons updated to 17

Emil Lazarian

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 09:52,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. Authorities updated the list of missing persons in the market blast from 18 to 17.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the following people are unaccounted for after the blast:

1. Aram Hayrapetyan (born 1981)

2. Marat Shahbazyan

3. Sirarpi Khachatryan

4. Mariam Khachatryan

5. Harut Garakyan

6. Gagik Karapetyan

7. Artavazd Hayrapetyan

8. Erna Grigoryan (born 1980)

9. Hrachya Sargsyan (born 1976)

10. Vachagan Yeghoyan (born 2000)

11. Vanik Amirkhanyan

12. Kseniya Badalyan (born 1981)

13. Aram Harutyunyan

14. Davit Mkhitaryan

15. Lyuba Glebova (born 1959, citizen of Russia)

16. Mehri Taheri (citizen of Iran)

17. Gegham Petrosyan (born 1985)

 

According to the latest information the death toll stands at 16.