BAKU: Azerbaijani authorities evacuated around 5,000 people after a fire triggered explosions at an ammunition depot in the western Goranboy district overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, officials said.
The fire erupted at a military ammunition facility near Nizami village, according to a joint statement from Azerbaijan’s emergency situations, defence and interior ministries.
Emergency personnel and defence ministry teams, working alongside police and local authorities, immediately launched an operation to contain the blaze and secure surrounding communities.
Authorities reported no deaths or injuries from the incident.
Residents Evacuated From Two Villages as Precaution
Officials evacuated residents from Nizami and neighbouring Khoylu village and moved them to safer nearby areas.
Goranboy Deputy Chief Executive Seymur Nazarov, who also heads the district’s emergency commission, said authorities had evacuated a total of 5,000 people.
Meanwhile, security personnel introduced additional measures at the entrances and exits of both villages as emergency teams continued operations around the depot.
Nazarov said authorities were accommodating displaced residents in safe conditions while monitoring developments.
Fire Continues as Emergency Teams Battle Blaze
Although officials said they had brought the overall situation under control, the fire continued to burn and sporadic explosions could still be heard from the ammunition depot.
Consequently, emergency teams focused on preventing the blaze from spreading while continuing efforts to extinguish it completely.
Nazarov said the incident had caused no damage to residential properties and authorities had recorded no deaths, injuries or other serious losses.
Furthermore, officials continued restricting access to the affected area as a precaution while emergency crews worked at the site.
Authorities did not immediately disclose what caused the initial fire. Operations remained underway as emergency and security agencies monitored the ammunition facility and surrounding communities.
