A fire broke out at the mental hospital in the Voronezh region in the south of Russian Federation.
Advertisement
“Nineteen bodies were found at the site of the fire, two other people succumbed to their wounds at the hospital”, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
Share with Us – We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism.
He said: “Mass deaths of socially disadvantaged people every time happen due to the same reasons: insufficient financing, dilapidated buildings and staff shortages especially during night shifts”. Rescuers are searching for another missing person.
“The commission is led by Leonid Belyayev, the deputy minister for emergency situations”, the emergencies ministry representative said.
“As of 7:00 a.m., 21 people were killed and another 51 were rescued”.
On April 26, 2013, 38 people were killed in a fire at a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Moscow that housed as many as 41 people. Officials blamed the tragedy on faulty electric wiring and a short circuit.
Police have begun an investigation into the fire, which is being treated as a criminal act, and will look at whether negligence was a factor.
Soviet-era infrastructure is still widespread in parts of Russian Federation, and managers at psychiatric institutions are thought to take a lax approach to fire safety.
Advertisement
“They carried out 18 people who were sleeping and under the effects of strong medication”, he said.
