15 people died, dozens were injured as a result of the fire that occurred in a high-rise in Baku’s Binagadi district on Tuesday. I once again offer my deepest condolences to the families and relatives of those killed in the fire. At present, 20 of the injured are undergoing treatment in hospitals. The Health Ministry is doing its utmost for their speedy recovery.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made the remarks Wednesday at the first meeting of the State Commission, created to investigate the causes of the fire in a high-rise in Baku.

The head of state said that during the incident all state structures have shown great dedication.

"Health care workers, rescue workers and police officers showed great professionalism, dedication and heroism. Dozens of people were evacuated and rescued. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those who took part in the rescue operations,” the president noted.

Under my order, the State Commission was created to investigate the causes of the fire outbreak, and we are holding the first meeting of the Commission, the head of state said.

President Aliyev noted that the Commission should investigate the results of the fire, adding that the law-enforcement bodies were instructed in this regard.

“A criminal case was opened yesterday, and criminals must be brought to justice. We need to pay attention to all those affected by the fire. Some of them are being provided with temporary apartments and others received financial assistance so that they can temporarily rent a home for the period of repair of their burned-out apartments,” the head of state said.

The head of state said that the causes of the fire need to be investigated thoroughly.

“The heads of the company in charge of the repair of the building were detained, and the issue must be investigated seriously. This is not the first incident. Earlier, a similar incident occurred in Khatai district. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. However, that issue must also be investigated. Investigations are underway regarding the residential building fire in Khatai district. However, the companies in charge of the repair of the buildings are different. It shows that, both companies demonstrated great irresponsibility. Law-enforcement authorities will thoroughly investigate this issue, and I do not want to say anything yet. However, according to the preliminary supposition, the cladding materials of the building were of poor quality and not fire resistant. I raised the issue several times regarding the repair work in Baku, stating that first, the repair must be high quality and hazardous materials must not be used. I was convinced many times by representatives of relevant state bodies that quality and fire resistant materials were used. But the incident shows that it was false information. This issue must be investigated. Where were the materials used in the repair of these buildings produced? Or from where were they imported in? Who gave certification for them? And how were they examined? If they were examined, then who examined them? If they were not examined, so these buildings were repaired illegally. All these issues need to be investigated. Yesterday, I gave relevant instructions and I cannot say yet that I am satisfied with the information I was given. Because I can see that some bodies avoid the responsibility, blaming one another. Therefore, law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor`s office must seriously investigate the issue and find out who is a guilty”, noted the president.

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