According to official data, 195 people were considered missing аs result of the explosion in Artsakh fuel depot, and examinations have been conducted in 170 of those cases, Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan said at the National Assembly.
“In particular, examinations were carried out by individuals possessing specialized expert knowledge and using special means. That is, experts in any case assure that the identification was conducted correctly,” the minister noted, Panorama.am reports.
She was responding to a question from Hayastan faction MP Artur Khachatryan about why the victims of the Artsakh fuel and lubricants depot explosion had not been granted official status, noting that he had received numerous appeals on the issue.
Galyan said claims that the state has not provided assistance are absolutely untrue, as families of the missing have received monthly financial and social support from the government.
Khachatryan clarified that his question specifically concerned the victims and missing persons from the Artsakh fuel depot explosion.
“It concerns more than 230 people, and the remains of 20 of them have still not been found,” Khachatryan said, adding that around 80 of them were members of law enforcement agencies, while the rest were civilians.
He stressed that the victims of the fuel depot explosion have not received any compensation or official status, except for coverage of funeral expenses.
Khachatryan said he had forwarded appeals from victims’ relatives to the government and asked: “To do something, because these are 230 of our compatriots — does our government plan anything, allocate a one-time payment, grant a status, so that in some way the issue can be resolved?”
Galyan stated that civilian victims of the explosion were granted 1 million drams, and servicemen, according to her, received 2 million drams, in accordance with a decision of the Armenian government.
On September 25, 2023, an explosion at a fuel depot near a military unit in the “Haikazov” area along the Stepanakert-Askeran road claimed 219 lives; 22 people remain missing and more than 290 were injured.
