Images of Baku inferno that claimed at least 15 lives including three children

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.

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.

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

(dailymail.co.uk)