Yerevan’s Surmalu Market, where an explosion last August killed sixteen and injured scores more, reopened for business today.

The Yerevan Municipality shut down the market on March 14 due to ongoing fire and safety violations.

The municipality says work has been carried out to fix most of the violations, significantly decreasing the threat of fire.

Surmalu Market Director Irina Madatova has been ordered to remove any remaining violations.

A Yerevan court, on February 23, decided to detain Surmalu Market Director Madatova for two months for violating fire safety regulations and forging a document. The investigation is ongoing.

Photo: Sona Kocharyan