The number of people killed in an explosion and fire at a furniture workshop in Baku has risen to seven. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry announced the higher death toll on January 15, saying rescuers pulled the seventh body out of the rubble. At least 24 people were injured, the Prosecutor-General's Office said. A probe into possible violations of fire-safety regulations and negligence that led to the deaths has been launched, the office said, and a search-and-rescue operation was ongoing. Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to the authorities of Azerbaijan in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The cause of the blast was not known, but comes less than a week after a fire at the Perinatal Center in the Azerbaijani capital killed four infants early in the morning on January 9. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.
