15 Armenian servicemen have died and 3 more were critically injured trying to light a fire with petrol.

Fifteen Armenian servicemen have died and three more were critically injured in a blaze blamed on soldiers trying to light a fire with petrol.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday at a barracks near Armenia's restive eastern border with Azerbaijan.

Initial reports said the fire had been caused by a violation of safety rules.

But Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan revealed later that servicemen had been using petrol to light a stove.

He told a cabinet meeting that preliminary inquiries indicated an attempt had been made to "pour gasoline from a five-litre canister into the heater", Armenpress quoted him as saying.