(Corrects to close quotation marks in third paragraph)
(Reuters) – An explosion struck a nightclub in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku early on Sunday, setting off a fire that killed one person and injured 31, the Associated Press reported.
The explosion was believed to have been caused by a gas leak and investigations were ongoing, the AP said, citing an Interior Ministry spokesperson.
“Very sad news about casualties as a result of explosion at the club downtown Baku,” U.S. Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim tweeted https://twitter.com/hazar_khazar/status/1510453253301022720. “My condolences and prayers.”
Some 24 of the injured had been hospitalised, most with burns, the AP quoted a Health Ministry spokesperson as saying.
Azerbaijan’s health ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside working hours. The interior ministry could not immediately be reached.
The country’s emergency services were called to the club at 3 a.m. (2300 GMT on Saturday) and extinguished the fire before it could spread, the AP said, citing a statement from the department.
(This story was refiled to close quotation marks in third paragraph)
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
