On 28 October 1995, a fire broke out in the subway system of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, between the stations Ulduz and Nariman Narimanov.

Although a number of people who evacuated the train survived,[2] the fire remains the world's deadliest subway disaster.

[3] One person, Chingiz Babayev, was posthumously awarded the title of the National Hero of Azerbaijan for saving passengers' lives.

[4] The Ulduz and Nariman Narimanov metro stations serve the northern part of Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.

The affected train, consisting of five fully loaded cars, had just left Ulduz station for Nariman Narimanov.

However, lethal emissions of carbon monoxide from the burning synthetic materials in the cars quickly affected the passengers.

Some 15 minutes after the fire started, the ventilation system was switched to exhaust mode and much of the smoke was drawn in the direction of evacuation.

President Heydar Aliyev told a U.S. official that while preliminary information indicated a technical fault, the fire was "possibly an organised act of sabotage".