STEPANAKERT—A landmine explosion on Wednesday at the northeastern section of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border killed three soldiers of the Artsakh Army and left one critically injured, reported the Artsakh Defense Ministry.

The explosion occurred at 6:55 p.m. and claimed the lives of Gegham Zakaryan (born in 1995), Sargis Abrahamyan (born in 1998) and Sargis Melikyan). Another soldier, Narek Hoveyan (born in 1998), has been hospitalized and is in critical condition.

The Artsakh Defense Ministry has launched an investigation to probe the details of the incident and offered its condolences to the families of the deceased soldiers.

Artsakh President Bako Sahakian, who is on a visit to France, offered his condolences and posthumously awarded the three soldiers the Artsakh “For Service in Battle” medal for their efforts in defending the homeland.

The Armenian Defense Ministry’s investigation committee has also launched an investigation. In a statement it said that the three soldiers were killed by an anti-tank mine while performing engineering duties at the site.

The Armenian Defense Ministry spokesperson Artstrun Hovannisyan confirmed Wednesday that the deaths were not cause by direct Azerbaijani fire.