Tragic Car Accident and Fire in Gegharkunik Region: One of the Two Victims Found Partially Ashen, Two Injured

On October 19, a tragic car accident and fire occurred in the Gegharkunik region. At around 2:50 AM, the driver of an Opel Vectra with license plate 35 QՏ 313 veered off the road section leading from Madana village to Verin Getashen village, collided with a concrete barrier, rolled several times, and crashed into a cliff. According to photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan reporting from the scene, a fire broke out in the car following the collision, as stated by Shamshyan.com.

As a result of the accident, three residents of Nerkhin Getashen village—18-year-old Davit Ghalachyan, 18-year-old Garik Hakobyan, and 17-year-old Arsen Sedrakyan—were hospitalized with injuries at the Martuni Medical Center. However, 18-year-old Movses Khachatryan, a resident of Nerkhin Getashen village, was found about 30 meters away from the vehicle in a partially ashen state by firefighters and rescuers. He had died at the scene.

The emergency response unit, the 33rd Fire and Rescue Team of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, arrived at the site with one firefighting crew. The rescuers extinguished the fire in the vehicle; however, the car was completely reduced to ashes. The fire spread across the entire area due to the completely dry grass surrounding the vehicle.

The firefighters extinguished the flames, and before that, they assisted local police officers from the Martuni division in transferring the deceased and the injured to the emergency vehicle that had arrived from Martuni Hospital. Personnel from the 4th squad of the 2nd Police Battalion arrived at the scene, led by squad commander Edgar Suslyan. Also present was Colonel Aram Ghazaryan, the head of the Gegharkunik regional police.

The operational group of the Martuni Police Division was also present at the scene, led by Police Chief Stepan Hakobyan and his deputy for operational matters Garik Gerasimyan. The incident was reported to the 1-77 operational management center, and the information was passed to the Investigative Committee of Armenia's Gegharkunik regional division, where an investigative team led by Senior Investigator Manukyan arrived.

While the investigative team was conducting an examination of the scene, hospital staff reported that injured Davit Ghalachyan had died without regaining consciousness. Following this, Senior Investigator Manukyan initiated a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. The police and investigative department are currently identifying the driver. Preliminary information suggests that the driver was Davit Ghalachyan, but this information is also being verified by the police and investigators.