There is no danger of a new explosion in the territory of the “Surmalu” Shopping Center, where a powerful explosion took place yesterday. Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Davit Hambaryan said in a conversation with journalists.
“There is a possibility of local explosions, possible ignition of the remaining materials, but there is no danger,” he said. According to him there is no problem with water for extinguishing the fire.
According to Hambaryan, there are scattered materials that no longer pose a greater danger than they are, but they must be completely extinguished, long-term cooling work must be carried out.
“I can’t say how long it will last. The situation is under control, the works will continue until the consequences and localization are fully realized,” Davit Hambaryan said.
According to him, the works are also done manually, because there is a possibility that there are survivors.
“Minutes of silence were held many times, both at night and in the morning,” Hambaryan said.
According to the Deputy Minister, the investigation group will give a conclusion about the reasons and now it is too early to talk about the reasons. “We are dealing with highly flammable materials that were stored in warehouses. The fire happened, in fact, in the storage areas. At this moment, it is too early to assess to what extent it is about flammable materials, but the investigation will give the answer to those questions.”
He also mentioned that access to the area is restricted, only special rescue and police forces are there and the adjacent shops will remain closed until the works are completed.
Davit Hambaryan emphasized that there are a lot of volunteers and compassionate people, but those who have some experience should be involved in the rescue work. It is about both physical and psychological preparation. He also thanked the volunteers, saying that if necessary, they will contact the citizens, but there is no need for it now.
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Let us remind that yesterday, on 14 August, an explosion took place in the territory of the “Surmalu” Shopping Center, causing a fire and collapse. A three-story building partially collapsed. The ruins cover an area of 8000-9000 square meters.
A call “No. 3” for the complexity of the fire was announced. 10 combat units from the fire-rescue squads of the rescue department of Yerevan city of MES went to the scene of the incident.
As a result of the calls received to the 911 hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the following citizens can be considered missing in the territory of the “Surmalu” Shopping Center:
- Aram Hayrapetyan, born in 1981
- Vardan Kocharyan, born in 1960.
- Marat Shahbazyan
- Sirarpi Khachatryan
- Mariam Khachatryan
- Harut Garakyan
- Gagik Karapetyan
- Artavazd Hayrapetyan
- Erna Grigoryan, born in 1980
- Hrachya Sargsyan, born in 1976
- Vachagan Yeghoyan, born in 2000
- Vanik Amirkhanyan
- Anahit Khalatyan
- Ksenia Badalyan, born in 1981.
- Aram Harutyunyan
- David Mkhitaryan
If you have any information about missing citizens, please call the “911” hotline.
There are 6 victims: Anahit Mkhitaryan, Misak Margaryan, Jemma Nazaryan and Gayane Avetisyan. Two of the victims have not been identified.
The number of persons taken to medical centers is currently 61.
13 victims continue to receive treatment in different centers. Experts assess their health condition as moderate.
The other hospitalized patients received the necessary medical care and were discharged.
