VIDEO: "We were shouting, 'Fire, get out!'" Witness testifies in case of 15 soldiers killed in fire

In the military barracks of the village of Azat in the Gegharkunik region, testimonies are being heard today regarding the case of the 15 soldiers who died in a fire. As reported by NEWS.am, the injured party Levon Khachatryan is currently being questioned in court.

He stated that he recognized the parties in the trial. Referring to the fire incident, Khachatryan recounted: "On the 18th, before the incident, we were transporting ammunition in the unit, and then we went to our main place, where we lived. At that time, everyone was occupied with their activities, hygiene, washing, etc. We prayed, and then when I was supposed to take my post, I needed to switch with Hayk Kirakosyan. I went to change and then switched with Razik with Hayk. A few minutes after that, I went inside; I don't remember the exact reason I went in. Yeghishe said he would go get wood, so I went to get wood. Then he said he would get fuel; I replied I didn't know the specific place, and he suggested I call Vagoy or Arsen. I called one of them, and they too couldn’t remember what they responded. Then, while going around the area, I went back inside to get tea. At the entrance, I saw Yeghishe's hand was on fire, and the front of the bedroom was burning. I took my vest off and tried to extinguish it with my military jacket while we were constantly shouting, 'Alarm, there’s a fire, get out.' The flames were very strong, so I threw myself into the snow. A few people were by the window trying to help someone get out; I remember one person coming out, it was Garush, another was taken to the hospital by a 07 ambulance, and after that, I was in a coma for four days."

The witness described the structure of the house where they were living: "We had a chulian where we kept our tools, a kitchen which was a separate booth, and our house, which we entered through a small corridor where we would take off and put on our boots, hang our clothes. On the right side of the corridor, there was a door that led to our hall; to the right of the door was the bedroom. The floors and doors were wooden; we had recently renovated the hall in December, put up wallpapers, and the wall was made of stone. When I went, the previous servicemen had also renovated the bathroom."

For more details, please see the video.

Recall that on January 19, around 01:30, a fire broke out in the barracks of the engineering and reconnaissance battalion stationed in the territory of the village of Azat, Gegharkunik region, resulting in the deaths of 15 contracted soldiers. Seven soldiers were taken to the Vardenis hospital, four of whom were discharged after receiving care, while three were transferred to Yerevan with severe injuries to the National Center for Burns.

Following the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and another seven high-ranking military officials were dismissed from their positions. Hours after the tragedy, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the official version at a government meeting, which stated that a serviceman poured gasoline on the heater, and when the fire engulfed him, out of "self-defense instinct," he threw a 5-liter gasoline container towards the barracks, which caused the fire.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 532, Part 4 of the RA Criminal Code (violation of safety rules related to weapons, ammunition, military equipment, or other military property that caused the death of two or more persons through negligence) and proceedings under Article 550, Part 3 of the RA Criminal Code (military official negligence causing a person's death), which has been attached to the main proceedings.