9
1
MOSCOW -- An explosion caused by a gas leak hit a nightclub in the capital of Azerbaijan and set off a fire early Sunday, killing one person and injuring 31 others, officials said.
The gas provider Azerigas said the explosion at the LocationBaku nightclub was caused by a leaky gas canister.
Officials said a club employee was killed by the explosion and 31 people suffered various injuries. Health Ministry spokesman Parviz Abubekirov told the AP that 24 people had been hospitalized, most of them with burns.
Firefighters quickly arrived at the club in central Baku at 3 a.m. and extinguished the fire before it could spread.
Video posted on social media showed dozens of people in a panic, some of them injured, outside the club, which appeared to have been heavily damaged by the explosion.