More than 20 people were feared dead in a fire at a hospital in southwestern Russia Sunday, local media reported. Nine people were reported dead and the fate of 12 others remain unknown, according to source in the region’s emergencies ministry department, Sputnik reported. Authorities have confirmed that the blaze has been put out.
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Some 70 patients were inside the building, along with at least four medical personnel, when the fire started.
He said that one person was still missing, while two people died while they were being taken to a hospital for treatment. At least 29 of the patients were reportedly confined to their beds or with limited mobility. Another two of the wounded succumbed to their injuries en route to hospital.
The fire has been put out, but the cause of it remains unknown.
Forty six people were transferred to another unit which had not been damaged by the fire.
A working group of the government commission for prevention and liquidation of emergencies has left for Russia’s Voronezh region to investigate the causes of a fire that erupted at a psycho-neurological clinic in the Alfyorovka village, the Russian Emergencies Ministry press service told TASS.
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The fire reduced the wooden hospital building to its scorched foundations, with footage showing rescue workers combing through the smoking ruins. Authorities may press charges once the reason behind the fire has been established.
