Tweet
MOMENT OF ARMENIAN CONCERT BALLOON EXPLOSION CAUGHT ON CAMERA
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/armenia/9247418/Moment-of-Armenian-concert-balloon-explosion-caught-on-camera.html
04 May 2012
More than 140 people were injured when gas-filled balloons exploded
at a governing party campaign concert in the Armenian capital.
The Armenian emergencies ministry said that 144 people suffered burns
when several promotional balloons exploded at a showpiece concert
staged by President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican party in Yerevan's
central Republic Square ahead of parliamentary polls this Sunday.
Armenian internet sites showed a fireball rising into the air and
chaotic images of people screaming in confusion and anger after
thousands of Republican party supporters celebrated with big bunches
of balloons at the concert.
"The balloons exploded and caught fire after people holding the bunches
released them from their hands into the air," an eyewitness who asked
to remain anonymous told AFP.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident.
"All the victims had either medium or light injuries. Now doctors are
trying to revive them from shock," Health Minister Harutiun Kushkian
told reporters.
The promotional balloons were decorated with the governing party's
election slogan "Let's believe in change".
President Sarkisian's party has been tipped by opinion polls to
triumph in Sunday's election ahead of its ruling coalition rival,
the Prosperous Armenia party led by a super-rich former arm wrestling
champion.
The vote is the biggest test of the ex-Soviet state's democratic
credentials since disputed presidential elections in 2008, when mass
rallies ended in bloody clashes between riot police and opposition
supporters that left 10 people dead, casting a shadow over Sarkisian's
administration.
The authorities in the mountainous country of 3.3 million people have
promised an unprecedentedly clean contest for the 131-seat National
Assembly in the hope of avoiding further political turmoil.
Opposition parties however have questioned the validity of the opinion
polls and threatened demonstrations if there are mass falsifications.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/armenia/9247418/Moment-of-Armenian-concert-balloon-explosion-caught-on-camera.html
04 May 2012
More than 140 people were injured when gas-filled balloons exploded
at a governing party campaign concert in the Armenian capital.
The Armenian emergencies ministry said that 144 people suffered burns
when several promotional balloons exploded at a showpiece concert
staged by President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican party in Yerevan's
central Republic Square ahead of parliamentary polls this Sunday.
Armenian internet sites showed a fireball rising into the air and
chaotic images of people screaming in confusion and anger after
thousands of Republican party supporters celebrated with big bunches
of balloons at the concert.
"The balloons exploded and caught fire after people holding the bunches
released them from their hands into the air," an eyewitness who asked
to remain anonymous told AFP.
It was not immediately clear what caused the incident.
"All the victims had either medium or light injuries. Now doctors are
trying to revive them from shock," Health Minister Harutiun Kushkian
told reporters.
The promotional balloons were decorated with the governing party's
election slogan "Let's believe in change".
President Sarkisian's party has been tipped by opinion polls to
triumph in Sunday's election ahead of its ruling coalition rival,
the Prosperous Armenia party led by a super-rich former arm wrestling
champion.
The vote is the biggest test of the ex-Soviet state's democratic
credentials since disputed presidential elections in 2008, when mass
rallies ended in bloody clashes between riot police and opposition
supporters that left 10 people dead, casting a shadow over Sarkisian's
administration.
The authorities in the mountainous country of 3.3 million people have
promised an unprecedentedly clean contest for the 131-seat National
Assembly in the hope of avoiding further political turmoil.
Opposition parties however have questioned the validity of the opinion
polls and threatened demonstrations if there are mass falsifications.