Death toll from fuel depot blast in Karabakh rises to 170 - media

Medics assist a person injured in an explosion at a fuel depot near Stepanakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, at the National Burn Center in Yerevan, Armenia September 26, 2023. Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The death toll from an explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh has risen to 170, Armenpress news agency reported on Friday citing local officials in the breakaway region.

The blast occurred as thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the breakaway enclave after their fighters were defeated by Azerbaijan in a lightning military operation.