Islamic holy men blessed the dead Monday and funeral music filled the airwaves in mourning for 300 people who died in the world's worst subway disaster.
The packed train caught fire Saturday in a tunnel in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, trapping hundreds of terrified passengers in a deadly mix of flames and fumes. Monday, survivors said it took firefighters and medical teams more than two hours to reach them after the blaze broke out."There were screams and everyone was trying to jump out of the train," said Khirami Khankishiyeva, a 33-year-old English teacher whose legs were cut as she stumbled a mile through the dark, smoke-filled tunnel to the next subway station.
People massed at the windows of the subway trying to escape, said Ilhan Gamidov, 26. A woman he helped out of a train car was burned badly on her legs after her stockings caught fire and was forced to leave behind one of her two children as she fled, he said.
Most of the victims were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from burning materials in the carriages, officials said. At least 200 other people were injured.
The former Soviet republic declared two days of mourning. Officials blamed the tragedy on the subway's "outdated Soviet" equipment.
Chanting midday prayers, mullahs blessed bodies that had been brought to the main Teze Pir mosque wrapped in clothing and blankets for ritual cleansing before burial. Some of the bodies had not been identified.
The subway was filled with commuters Monday, although police patrolled the stations and guarded the mosque in central Baku.
The Azerbaijani government has imposed a news blackout on the fire. There have been no pictures of the carnage on television, and most channels were off the air.
The fire broke out between two subway stations in central Baku because of a malfunction of the train's electric system, officials said.
Monday, train drivers flashed their lights between the stations where the accident took place in memory of the victims, the independent Turan news agency reported. Red carnations tied with black ribbons were placed at the entrances to the stations.
Survivors described sparks flying from high-voltage cables just after the train left the busy Ulduz station Saturday afternoon.
Rescuers battled the blaze until early Sunday, then pulled the injured and the dead, wrapped in rugs and blankets, from the tunnel. Axes reportedly were used to break the doors of one car and take the corpses out.
Turkey's Anatolia news agency said the dead included three rescue workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov, the head of a government panel investigating the disaster, said 291 people died and 269 were injured, Azerbaijan Radio said.
Earlier, however, morgue officials said they counted at least 303 bodies.