Baku, Azerbaijan, May 20
By Ilkin Izzet - Trend:
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has instructed to check the quality of buildings' cladding in Baku within two days, head of Baku City Executive Power Hajibala Abutalibov told reporters May 20.
He said that currently, there are 140 buildings with cladding in Baku. "A sample for examination will be taken from all the buildings and the results of this examination will be presented to me."
The causes of the fire will be determined in accordance with the result of the examination and a decision will be made whether to dismantle the cladding of buildings or not, Abutalibov added.
"Certain documents said that this material can be used for cladding," he said. "This material was used in many countries, including in Turkey and Russia."
A fire broke out in a residential building in Baku's Binagadi district May 19.
The death toll as a result of the fire has reached 15 people, according to the latest data.
Azerbaijani Health Ministry told Trend May 19 that currently, 14 out of 34 hospitalized people are in the hospitals of the capital.
A criminal case has been initiated in the Investigation Department on Grave Crimes of the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan upon the fact of fire outbreak on the Articles 225.2 (violation of fire safety rules), 308.2 (abuse of power) and 314.2 (negligence) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the version saying that the fire outbreak in Baku can be sabotage on the eve of the First European Games, Abutalibov said that this version is also under investigation.
"It shouldn't be ruled out either," he said. "However, our main task is to determine the causes of incident. We should find out the concrete reasons of the fire."
Abutalibov added that the cladding has been installed long ago, however, it has been burning one by one in recent times.
All the buildings with cladding have been provided with security in accordance with the instruction of President Ilham Aliyev, he added.
"We ask citizens to be more vigilant," said the head of the Baku City Executive Power.
"Currently, Azerbaijan is in the spotlight of the whole world. First of all, we ourselves should protect our country."