‘We fell between the stones, fire was pouring down directly on my feet’: 28-year-old Hripsime talks about her burns

28-year-old Hripsime Yeremyan was injured in the powerful explosion at the 'Surmalu' shopping center while she was shopping for gifts for her brother's child with her mother.

Hripsime told NEWS.am that she sustained burns to her legs due to the fire that broke out as a result of the explosion. 'I have a lot of pain; both of my legs are burned, I have a fracture, my left leg is more severely damaged. During this time, I can't walk normally. Now I continue my treatment at home, and in the meantime, I go to the hospital for dressings. The doctors say that I need to receive long-term treatment,' said Hripsime Yeremyan.

By profession a nurse, she recounted that they had finished their shopping, were preparing to pay, and were about to leave when the three-story building exploded. At the moment of the powerful explosion, Hripsime and her mother were on the ground floor of the building. 'We fell between the stones; the store owner helped us get out. My mother was also injured, but it was minor scratches. While we were trapped between the stones, fire was pouring down directly on my feet. The store owner pushed the stones aside, light came in, and with each other's help, we got out. I had done some work there; there was a pregnant woman, and I was asking her to breathe. When the light appeared, I was able to push them out, in the end, I threw myself on the stones,'” she recounted.