NNA – 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 Armeniansnbsp;fled the breakaway enclavenbsp;after their fighters were defeated by Azerbaijan in a lightning military operation.
The authorities have not given any explanation of the cause of the blast.
The number of victims rose sharply from an earlier announcement by Karabakh authoritiesnbsp;reportingnbsp;68 dead on Tuesday evening.
Rescue work at the blast site continues.
As of Friday morning, more than 84,700 of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who call Nagorno-Karabakh home had alreadynbsp;crossednbsp;into Armenia.–REUTERS
nbsp;
nbsp;
======================R.H.