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Azerbaijan fire deaths prompt 'flammable cladding' protest | Azerbaijan fire deaths prompt 'flammable cladding' protest |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Thousands of people in Azerbaijan have protested on social media at the use of flammable building cladding after a deadly fire at an apartment block. | |
Fifteen people were killed and dozens more were injured in the blaze at the 16-storey block in the capital, Baku. | Fifteen people were killed and dozens more were injured in the blaze at the 16-storey block in the capital, Baku. |
Several thousand said they would attend a protest on Wednesday but only around 100 people turned up. | |
Officials blamed the "low quality of plastic siding" on the building and said an investigation had begun. | |
Helicopters were scrambled as emergency crews fought to bring the blaze under control on Tuesday. | |
Local media said children were among those killed and one victim died after leaping from the building. | |
'Punishment' | |
The head of the construction company deemed responsible was detained after the fire. | |
Meanwhile, opposition website Meydan TV posted an archive photo on its Facebook page showing President Ilham Aliyev inaugurating the Global Construction company's factory that reportedly manufactured the panels. | Meanwhile, opposition website Meydan TV posted an archive photo on its Facebook page showing President Ilham Aliyev inaugurating the Global Construction company's factory that reportedly manufactured the panels. |
Fifteen thousand people responded to a Facebook invitation to "remember the people [who died] and demand the punishment of the culprits" but the page was taken down on Wednesday morning. | |
Some social media users also denounced calls for people to dismantle the cladding themselves. | Some social media users also denounced calls for people to dismantle the cladding themselves. |
At the scene - Naila Hasanova, BBC Azeri | |
Dozens of police watched the area as more than 100 people took part in a protest. | |
Police reacted violently towards at least one person, who was chanting, "Dismantle the cladding, remove the masks, people wake up!" | |
Flowers were laid near the burnt out building. | |
One of its residents spoke out, calling on the mayor to resign and for those responsible to be punished. | |
Baku has undergone an extensive urban redevelopment programme in the past few years as ex-Soviet Azerbaijan reaps the benefits of oil and gas profits. | Baku has undergone an extensive urban redevelopment programme in the past few years as ex-Soviet Azerbaijan reaps the benefits of oil and gas profits. |
The city of some two million people has seen crumbling Communist-era blocks and early 20th-Century tenement buildings torn down to make way for glitzy skyscrapers. | The city of some two million people has seen crumbling Communist-era blocks and early 20th-Century tenement buildings torn down to make way for glitzy skyscrapers. |
The radical overhaul by the authorities has sparked protests from rights activists who accuse the government of forcibly evicting residents without proper compensation. | The radical overhaul by the authorities has sparked protests from rights activists who accuse the government of forcibly evicting residents without proper compensation. |
The fire deaths come just weeks before the start of the 2015 European Games, which will be held in Baku between 12-28 June. | The fire deaths come just weeks before the start of the 2015 European Games, which will be held in Baku between 12-28 June. |
The local organising committee has spent billions of pounds on Games infrastructure, including a new 68,000-capacity athletics stadium, and international-standard aquatics, gymnastics, BMX and shooting venues. | The local organising committee has spent billions of pounds on Games infrastructure, including a new 68,000-capacity athletics stadium, and international-standard aquatics, gymnastics, BMX and shooting venues. |