YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The 1988 Spitak devastating earthquake was a tragedy which became the tragedy of everyone and gathered people from different parts of the world under the slogan “For you, Armenia”, Russian deputy minister for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief Nikolai Grechushkin said during today’s outgoing session of the Armenian government in Gyumri, reports Armenpress.

“Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Spitak devastating earthquake. It’s difficult to express in words the grief and pain of the loss. An earthquake that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, Armenian villages and town were demolished in just a few minutes, hundreds of thousands of people remained homeless”, the Russian official said.

He said according to the official data, 25.000 people have been killed, 140.000 injured in the devastating earthquake.

Nikolai Grechushkin said Armenia’s tragedy in 1988 has become a universal pain. “From the first days of the earthquake the Armenian people felt the warmness of human soul. Rescuers from France, Switzerland, UK, US, Russia and etc arrived in Armenia during those days”, the Russian deputy minister said, adding that more than 111 states provided humanitarian aid to Armenia at that time.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan