Tower block inferno claims at least 16 lives in Baku, Azerbaijan

Hundreds fled for their lives when the inferno erupted in the 16-storey apartment building today

    

These shocking scenes show an inferno in an apartment block today in which at least 16 people have been killed and another 64 injured.

Hundreds fled for their lives from the deadly fire which spread rapidly amid allegations of an inflammable 'low quality of plastic' on the building.

Located in Baku, the oil-rich capital of Azerbaijan, three children were among those killed in the 16 storey building, said local reports, among them a three-year-old girl.

A number were saved by firefighters, who were themselves held back by strong winds fanning the flames, while helicopters were scrambled to put out the mammoth blaze in the Caspian Sea city.

There were fears people were still missing in the carnage. The apartment block houses 408 residents in 107 flats.

The smoke from the blaze could be seen for miles after strong winds fanned the flames

    

A woman gestures for help from a burnt out window high up in the multi-storey residential building

    

Some 30 ambulances were at the scene in the Binagadi district of Baku, with initial reports saying 26 had been hospitalised.

Azerbaijan's general prosecutor Zakir Garalov accused planners of allowing 'low quality of plastic siding' on the building and said an investigation had been launched.

Among the dead was two year old Farakh Maharramova Elnur, Baku media reported.

Police officers at the scene of the fire run to avoid falling debris from landing on them

    

President Aliyev insisted that those guilty of causing the fire must be 'punished', said his aide Ali Hasanov.

'The fire that occurred in the Binagadi district of Baku has caused serious concern to President Ilham Aliyev,' he said, adding the president ordered 'comprehensive aid to those affected'.

It has been claimed the building had used an inflammable 'low quality of plastic siding'

    

Baku has seen a facelift since its days as a dour Soviet provincial capital, and is now one of the most gleaming outposts of the former Kremlin empire amid the country's energy riches.

New skyscrapers have been built, but there are concerns that safety rules are abused in the rush to modernise Baku under iron-fisted dictator Ilham Aliyev.

The president expressed grave concern over the fire and took the criminal case into the incident under his personal control.

The Prosecutor General's Office, Interior Ministry and Ministry of Emergency Situations set up a joint task force to investigate the case.