A fire killed 25 people at a drug rehabilitation centre in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on Friday, officials said. The fire broke out at the country’s Drug Abuse Treatment Centre at 6.10 am local time (7:40 am Indian time), the local news agency APA reported. It was put out after about two and a half hours.

Thirty of the 55 people who were in the building at the time of the fire were rescued, a government statement said. Three of them are in hospital.

Soon after the blaze was reported, ambulances and personnel of the fire and emergency services arrived at the building. Officials said the blaze was probably caused by a problem in the power network of the building. They have filed a criminal case and an investigation is under way.

Azerbaijan faces a chronic shortage of rehabilitation centres for its 30,000 registered drug addicts, according to BBC.