Two Armenian soldiers injured in barracks fire remain in serious condition

Three Armenian servicemen injured in an overnight fire in an Armenian military barracks are undergoing treatment in the National Burns Center, the hospital director and an advisor to the health minister, Karine Babayan, told reporters on Thursday.

Two of them, including an officer, have suffered respiratory tract burns and remain in grave condition in the intensive care unit. The other soldier has lighter injuries and is in better condition, she said.

The fire broke out in the barracks of an engineer and sapper company in a military unit in Azat, a village in Armenia's eastern Gegharkunik Province, early on Thursday, killing fifteen servicemen and injuring seven others.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan said that the fire erupted because soldiers used gasoline to fuel a stove.