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Arizona Daily Star
May 5 2012
Exploding balloons burn dozens during Armenian political rally
More than 140 people suffered burns or other injuries Friday in
Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, when bunches of balloons at a
concert and political rally exploded.
The balloons were supposed to be filled with helium but may have
instead been filled with methane, said Aghasi Yenokyan, director of
the Center for Political and International Studies, a Yerevan-based
think tank.
The incident occurred in downtown Republic Square during events
organized by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia as part of the
parliamentary election campaign.
During the concert, teenagers were holding hundreds of balloons when
they suddenly exploded in a huge ball of fire.
Dozens of people were taken by ambulances to various hospitals, and
then the show went on.
Nikolay Grigoryan, deputy chief of the Armenian Emergency Service,
told the Russian RIA Novosti agency that the balloons may have been
ignited by a cigarette.
"At first I thought that it was part of the show when I saw a huge
halo of fire over the crowd in front of the stage, but then I saw
people running and screaming," said Yelena Manukyan, a 36-year-old
office manager. "On some of them, the clothes were burned and they
were holding their hands over their heads and faces."
Fragments of burned balloons flew in all directions over the dense
crowd and caused burns to many people, Manukyan said.
A representative of the Armenian Health Ministry, Shushan Unanyan,
told RIA Novosti that some of injured suffered burns and others were
hurt during the panic in the square.
After the accident, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan briefly
addressed the remaining audience, then left to visit injured people in
hospitals, Yenokyan said.
http://azstarnet.com/news/world/exploding-balloons-burn-dozens-during-armenian-political-rally/article_3b611105-71b4-5769-a5e5-0a95ee8f325c.html
May 5 2012
Exploding balloons burn dozens during Armenian political rally
More than 140 people suffered burns or other injuries Friday in
Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, when bunches of balloons at a
concert and political rally exploded.
The balloons were supposed to be filled with helium but may have
instead been filled with methane, said Aghasi Yenokyan, director of
the Center for Political and International Studies, a Yerevan-based
think tank.
The incident occurred in downtown Republic Square during events
organized by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia as part of the
parliamentary election campaign.
During the concert, teenagers were holding hundreds of balloons when
they suddenly exploded in a huge ball of fire.
Dozens of people were taken by ambulances to various hospitals, and
then the show went on.
Nikolay Grigoryan, deputy chief of the Armenian Emergency Service,
told the Russian RIA Novosti agency that the balloons may have been
ignited by a cigarette.
"At first I thought that it was part of the show when I saw a huge
halo of fire over the crowd in front of the stage, but then I saw
people running and screaming," said Yelena Manukyan, a 36-year-old
office manager. "On some of them, the clothes were burned and they
were holding their hands over their heads and faces."
Fragments of burned balloons flew in all directions over the dense
crowd and caused burns to many people, Manukyan said.
A representative of the Armenian Health Ministry, Shushan Unanyan,
told RIA Novosti that some of injured suffered burns and others were
hurt during the panic in the square.
After the accident, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan briefly
addressed the remaining audience, then left to visit injured people in
hospitals, Yenokyan said.
http://azstarnet.com/news/world/exploding-balloons-burn-dozens-during-armenian-political-rally/article_3b611105-71b4-5769-a5e5-0a95ee8f325c.html