Details added (first version posted on 11:36)
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The death toll in a fire in a multi-storey building in Azadlig Avenue in Baku, Azerbaijan, has reached 16, the representative of the Azerbaijani Healthcare Ministry, Safaya Ahmadova told Trend May 19.
She added that 54 people were injured in the fire.
Ahmadova also earlier told Trend that one of the killed is a small child.
Some 30 ambulances are working at the scene. The fire has already been extinguished.
Earlier, Azerbaijan's Emergency Situations Ministry received a call about a fire in a residential building in the Binagadi district of Baku. The fire brigades were immediately dispatched to the scene.
The relevant structures were also informed about the fire.
According to the witnesses, the building's plastic cladding was burning. This is the second case this month where fire spread rapidly due to easily flammable materials.
Due to the fire, the traffic in the disaster area along the Azadlig Avenue is currently limited, and drivers are recommended to drive along the Shovkat Mammadova Street.
Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov, Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov and the deputy Prosecutor General Rustam Usubov are at the scene.
