Azerbaijan fire: 24 killed at drug treatment centre

Azerbaijan fire: 24 killed at drug treatment centre
By Emma Beswick

A fire at a drug abuse treatment centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, has killed 24 people.

A fire killed 24 people in a drug abuse treatment centre in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Friday, according to the General Prosecutor's office.

A spokesman for the office said 31 people were rescued.

Four people were taken to hospital, according to the country's APA news agency.

The inferno started at the Republican Narcological Centre just before dawn and took firefighters around three hours to put out.

A fire truck pulls out from the drug abuse treatment centre that caught fire in Baku.

Strong winds fanned the flames that could be seen raging out of windows in photographs of the scene.

The fire was probably caused by a problem in the building's power network, officials said.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev visited the centre once the blaze had been extinguished, according to local media.

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