A blast in Nagorno-Karabakh injures more than 200, while thousands flee to Armenia

An ethnic Armenian boy from Nagorno-Karabakh looks on from a car upon arrival in Armenia's Goris, in the Syunik region, Armenia, on Monday. Thousands of Armenians have streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region last week. (Vasily Krestyaninov/AP)

YEREVAN, Armenia — A powerful blast rocked the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region Monday evening as ethnic Armenians streamed out of the breakaway territory after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of it in a lighting offensive last week.

The explosion at fuel storage facility near the regional capital of Stepanakert wounded more than 200 people, Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said on X, formerly known as Twitter. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, which happened as residents were lining up to get fuel for their cars in order to leave the region.