Scores are dead in gas station blast as Nagorno-Karabakh residents flee to Armenia

Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh sit in a truck on their way to Goris in Syunik region, Armenia, on Tuesday. Thousands of Armenians have streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region last week. (Gayane Yenokyan/AP)

YEREVAN, Armenia — An explosion at a crowded gas station in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region left scores of people dead and injured as thousands of ethnic Armenians rushed to flee into neighboring Armenia, the separatist territory's authorities said Tuesday.

Some 28,000 people — about 23% of the region's population — have fled across the border since Azerbaijan defeated separatists who have governed the breakaway region for about 30 years in a swift military operation last week, according to Armenia's government.