MOSCOW, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the fire at a home for the elderly in western Russia rose to 29 after more victims were found during the clean-up operation, and the rescue operation at the scene of the incident is ongoing, Russian news agencies reported Monday.

    As many as 293 people, including 17 medics, were evacuated from the retirement home in a two-story brick building with wooden partitions.

    "The belated fire alarm was the reason for the large number of deaths of people in the nursing home," Interfax quoted senior spokesman for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Viktor Beltsov as saying.

    When firefighters arrived at the old peoples' home the fire had spread to over 1,000 square meters, he said.

    Tuesday will be a day of mourning in the Tula Region, a representative of the regional administration said.

    Emergency experts and investigators are probing the causes of the fire.

    The fire, which broke out on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. (1020 GMT), is the third lethal fire at an old peoples' home this year.

    In March, a total of 63 people were killed and 33 injured in a fire at a home for the elderly in the village of Kamyshevatskaya in the Krasnodar region.

    Ten people were killed in a fire at an old peoples' home in the Omsk region in June. Preliminary investigations show that fire was caused by arson.