Building collapse death toll rising

Four people have been detained over Tuesday’s collapse of a building in the center of Baku that killed seven persons and injured four others, law enforcement agencies said.

These included general director of the Mutefekkir limited liability society Ali Muradov, engineer Asgar Aliyev, as well as two contractors, says a joint statement of the Ministries for Interior and Emergencies, and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The 15-story building collapsed on the Murtuza Mukhtarov Street in the Yasamal district of the capital, leaving dozens trapped under the debris. Search and rescue operations are underway, and the death toll is expected to rise further.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted on charges of violating safety regulations and negligence, which resulted in human casualties, and constructing a building without a permission of local authorities.

A special group comprising representatives of the two ministries and the Prosecutor General’s Office has been set up to investigate the causes of the accident.

The joint statement said the Mayor’s Office of Baku had only authorized the design of the building back in 1994 under a relevant decree, but Mutefekkir went ahead and launched construction operations in 2002 anyway.

President Ilham Aliyev visited the accident site on Wednesday. He was accompanied by Minister of Emergencies Kamaladdin Heydarov, Interior Minister Ramil Usubov, Prosecutor-General Zakir Garalov, and Minister of Labor and Social Security Fizuli Alakbarov.

Heydarov briefed the head of state on the details of the accident. After becoming closely familiar with the afflicted area, President Aliyev issued instructions to the chiefs of power-wielding agencies to conduct the required expertise in the building, bring the culprits to book and evacuate all residents hurt in the accident. He also ordered to provide compensations to the families of those killed or injured in the collapse.

Reports said earlier that 20 more people were trapped in the rubble, but eyewitnesses and relatives of the construction workers said the figure was likely to be as many as 50. Informal reports circulated on Wednesday morning that most of those engaged in construction work were originally from the Arjivan village of the southern Astara district.*