On 28 October 1995, a fire broke out in the subway system of Baku, the capital of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, between the stations Ulduz and

Nariman Narimanov Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oghlu Narimanov ( az, Nəriman Kərbəlayi Nəcəf oğlu Nərimanov, russian: Нарима́н Кербелаи Наджа́ф оглы Нарима́нов; – 19 March 1925) was an Azerbaijani Bolshevik revolutionary, w ...

. According to official figures, the fire killed 289 people: 286 passengers (including 28 children) and three rescue workers, while 270 people were injured. The fire was deemed to have been caused by an electrical malfunction, but the possibility of sabotage was not excluded. Although a number of people who evacuated the train survived, the fire remains the world's deadliest subway disaster. One person, Chingiz Babayev, was posthumously awarded the title of the

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan milli qəhrəmanı) is the highest Hero (title), national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this t ...

for saving passengers' lives.

Background

The Ulduz and

metro stations serve the northern part of

's capital, Baku. The tunnel between them was equipped with a controllable ventilation system, but had a relatively narrow cross-section (height , width ). Before 1995 the deadliest subway accident was the

Malbone Street Wreck The Malbone Street wreck, also known as the Brighton Beach Line accident, was a rapid transit railroad accident that occurred on November 1, 1918, on the New York City Subway's BMT Brighton Line (now part of the BMT Franklin Avenue Line) in the ...

of 1918 in New York City, which killed as many as 93 people. The deadliest subway conflagration before 1995 was the

Paris Métro train fire The disastrous Paris Métro train fire occurred on the evening of 10 August 1903, on what was then Line 2 Nord of the system and is now Paris Métro Line 2. There were 84 deaths, most at Couronnes station, so it is also known as the Couronnes D ...

of 1903, which killed 84.

Fire

The fire, caused by an

electrical fault In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which a live wire touches a neutral or ground wire. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by a fa ...

, occurred during the Saturday evening rush hour at about 6:00 p.m. The affected train, consisting of five fully loaded cars, had just left Ulduz station for Nariman Narimanov. The passengers in car number 5 smelled smoke. Later, passengers in car 4 observed white smoke, which soon turned black and caused irritation. The putative electrical malfunction (a sparkover or

electric arc An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma; the plasma may produce visible light. An ...

in electrical equipment in the rear of the fourth car) stopped the train about 200 meters from Ulduz station. When the train stopped, the tunnel became filled with smoke. The driver reported the incident and demanded that the power be cut. However, lethal emissions of

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

from the burning synthetic materials in the cars quickly affected the passengers. Because of difficulties opening the doors in one of the cars, the passengers were forced to evacuate through another car. Some 15 minutes after the fire started, the ventilation system was switched to exhaust mode and much of the smoke was drawn in the direction of evacuation. Several people were

electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

while trying to grasp cables in order to escape the blazing train. The majority of those killed (including 28 children) were found inside the train, most of them either crushed or trampled to death. Forty bodies were found inside the tunnel. Survivors recalled sparks flying from high-voltage cables just after the train left the Ulduz station. One of the passengers, Tabil Huseynov, 45, described the situation as follows: "As soon as the train entered the tunnel, I saw a flash. Then the flames enveloped the train car, there was a sound of breaking glass, and the lights went out. People started breaking windows to get out. We were starting to suffocate." The estimated number of victims varied after the fire. Morgue officials reportedly counted at least 303 bodies, while the independent Azerbaijani news agency

Turan Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...

quoted medical officials as saying the number of people killed was 337. A three-day mourning period was declared. Lukoil rendered $9,000 in financial aid to the families of victims.

Investigation

The government inquiry commission concluded that the fire was caused by an electrical fault. The fire started in the

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multiple ...

of one

railway car A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

. No explosives were found. The commission's chairman, Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov, mentioned "outdated Soviet" equipment. Yet two mysterious large holes on the side of one of the wrecked carriages were reportedly found and Azeri national TV quoted experts as saying the holes indicated the use of an explosive device. President

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Az ...

told a U.S. official that while preliminary information indicated a technical fault, the fire was "possibly an organised act of sabotage". The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan convicted two persons for criminal negligence. The metro operator was sentenced to 15 years in prison and the station traffic controller 10 years.

References

External links

"Baku's Metro Accident: A Challenge to Strategize"
'' Azerbaijan International''

Background

Fire

Investigation

See also

References

External links

Further reading