RIA NOVOSTI, KOMMERSANT, THE MOSCOW TIMES (Russia)
MOSCOW – At least 38 people have died in a fire that broke out early Friday at a psychiatric hospital outside of Moscow.
The death toll may rise further as many are still believed to be in the one-story facility in Ramenye, 120 kilometers north of Moscow.
According to preliminary reports, 36 patients and two medical personnel died in the blaze.
36 bodies recovered after last fire at Moscow region psychiatric #clinic, 2 people are unaccounted for bit.ly/YYbdhH #news #Russia
— The Voice of Russia (@VoiceofRussia) April 26, 2013
“Three people survived – a medical nurse led two patients out of the burning building,” the press secretary of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Oleg Salagaev told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
Russian newspaper Kommersant reports that it took firefighters more than an hour to reach the hospital, because of a closed ferry connection.
RIA Novosti quoted police officials as saying the blaze was probably caused by a short circuit, although violation of fire safety regulations and arson have not been ruled out so far.
Friday’s fire recalls a 2009 blaze in a nursing home in Komi republic in northwestern Russia that killed 23 people, The Moscow Times recalls.
