08:27,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. 11 people died Monday in a car crash involving a minibus and a truck on the Yerevan-Gyumri highway, authorities reported.

A Volkswagen passenger minibus and a ZIL truck collided around 00:30, August 14, near the village of Lanjik in Shirak Province, the Rescue Service said in a press release.

11 people died and 9 others were injured in the crash. 6 injured victims, aged 27, 34, 33, 38, 23 and 39 were taken to the Gyumri Medical Center. One of the victims was later taken to the Erebuni Medical Center in Yerevan. 

The 33-year-old driver of the ZIL truck is among those injured.

UPDATES:

10:38 – Law enforcement agencies suspect reckless driving, criminal investigation underway 

The Ministry of Healthcare reported that 5 of the 6 hospitalized victims are in intensive care. 1 of the victims is in critical condition. 

Three other passengers were treated for minor injuries at the Astghik Medical Center and were discharged.

 11:50,

GYUMRI, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. The minibus that collided with a truck on Monday in the Shirak Province killing 11 passengers was returning from Turkey after a tourism tour, a family member of a victim told ARMENPRESS.

The minibus is owned by Hamshen Tour. The travel agency’s CEO, Gevorg Petrosyan, told ARMENPRESS that the Armenian tourists were returning from a tour from eastern Turkey where they traveled to visit historic Armenian settlements in what is now commonly referred to as Western Armenia.

Due to the closed land border, bus tours from Armenia to Turkey are operated via Georgia.

 12:05,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. The Iranian Embassy in Armenia has offered condolences to the families of the victims of the deadly minibus-truck collision in Armenia’s Shirak Province.

“We received with deep pain the news of the deaths and injuries of a group of citizens of Armenia. We extend condolences to the families and friends of those killed, wishing them patience, and speedy recovery to those injured,” the Iranian Embassy posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

11 people were killed and nine were injured in a collision between a minibus carrying passengers and a truck in the Shirak Province in the early hours of August 14.

 13:26,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Investigators have revealed new details about the deadly August 14 minibus-truck collision in Shirak Province.

According to the Investigative Committee, the driver of the ZIL truck had entered the wrong side of the road when the head-on collision took place.

11 people died Monday in a car crash involving a minibus and a truck in Shirak Province. The Volkswagen van carrying passengers collided with a ZIL truck near the village of Lanjik.

 15:27,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has extended condolences to the families of the victims of the minibus-truck collision that killed 11 passengers. 

“I am shocked by the news of the tragic car crash in Shirak Province. Road safety is among the priorities of the government’s agenda. In conditions of a constantly growing number of cars, in 2022 the number of deaths in traffic accidents had dropped compared to 2021. According to preliminary information, both vehicles involved in the crash in Shirak Province had technical inspection [license] and [insurance] contracts, and the drivers had relevant driving permits. The investigation will give the answers to the remaining questions. Additional steps are being taken and will be taken to increase the level of road safety, and the steps can be maximally effective through more consistent introduction and supervision of working, technical and road standards. My condolences to all the relatives of all the victims of all car accidents,” Pashinyan said in a statement on Facebook.

 12:51,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. The man who was found dead in Lake Sevan on August 13 by Armenian rescuers was the Ukrainian Charge d’Affaires in Armenia, according to a report.

European Pravda newspaper reported that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the victim’s identity as Charge d’Affaires of Ukraine in Armenia Oleksandr Senchenko.

Armenian authorities earlier said that the man drowned while swimming in Lake Sevan.

On August 13, the Armenian Rescue Service reported that lifeguards patrolling the 2nd public shore of Lake Sevan lost visual contact with a swimmer who was 25 meters away from the shore. The lifeguards rushed to the section of the lake and recovered the swimmer from a depth of 1,5 meters. The latter was declared dead by ambulance crew.

 16:28,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has offered condolences to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on the death of Charge d’Affaires of Ukraine in Armenia Oleksandr Senchenko, the Embassy of Armenia in Ukraine said in a statement.  

The embassy also expressed condolences on Senchenko’s death.

Senchenko while swimming in Lake Sevan on August 13.

 10:38,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Authorities have instituted criminal proceedings on aggravated reckless driving (vehicular manslaughter) amid the ongoing investigation into the fatal minibus crash in Shirak Province.

11 people died in the early hours of Monday morning in a car crash involving a minibus and a truck on the Yerevan-Gyumri highway.

Gor Abrahamyan, the spokesperson of the Investigative Committee, said in a statement that the driver of the minibus and 10 passengers were killed instantly in the crash. 5 other passengers, including the driver of the ZIL truck, were hospitalized.  The criminal case was opened under paragraph 3, Article 342 of the Criminal Code – violation of traffic rules or vehicular operation safety rules which negligently caused two or more deaths.

Abrahamyan said that law enforcement agencies are working to identify all passengers, reveal the cause of the crash and “give a legal assessment to the actions of the drivers.”

The Ministry of Healthcare reported that 5 of the 6 hospitalized victims are in intensive care. 1 of the victims is in critical condition. 

Three other passengers were treated for minor injuries at the Astghik Medical Center and were discharged.

 09:51,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani defense ministry has again falsely accused the Armenian military of opening gunfire in an ongoing disinformation campaign, the Armenian defense ministry warned Monday.

In a statement released Monday morning, the Armenian defense ministry said that the Azeri accusations are a “usual kind of disinformation.”

“The [Ministry of Defense] of Azerbaijan has come up with the usual kind of disinformation. The statement of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan as if allegedly from 10:45 p.m. on August 13 to 7:05 a.m. on August 14 the units of the Armed Forces [of Armenia] fired against the Azerbaijani combat outposts located in the eastern and southwestern parts of the border, does not correspond to reality,” the Armenian defense ministry said.

 14:04,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has falsely accused Armenia of amassing troops and military equipment near the border, the Armenian Ministry of Defense has warned. In addition, the Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijan’s latest disinformation campaign has again generated fake news falsely accusing Armenia of maintaining a military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, something that Yerevan has numerously denied and even called for an international fact-finding mission to be sent there for verification.

“The statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia have concentrated a large number of weapons, military equipment, and personnel near the Armenian-Azerbaijani border does not correspond to reality,” the Armenian Ministry of Defense said.  “In addition, regarding another false allegation mentioned in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia once again declares that the Republic of Armenia does not have an army in Nagorno-Karabakh,” it added.