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| Rescue team members are seen outside the building caught on fire in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 26, 2013. A major fire in a building in southwestern Moscow has claimed nine lives, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Saturday, adding that inappropriate use of electrical facilities might have caused the incident. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) |
MOSCOW, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A major fire in a building in southwestern Moscow has claimed nine lives, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Saturday, adding that inappropriate use of electrical facilities might have caused the incident.
"To the best as we know, one people died at the scene while six people died on the way to the hospital, and one more in the hospital," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted the ministry as saying.
Six others are receiving treatment in the hospital, the ministry added.
The building, completed in July, 2012, was undergoing decoration on the first floor, where electric welding was needed. Burning cigarette ends or inappropriate use of electrical equipment might have been the cause of the incident, the ministry added.
The security staff at the building under decoration noticed the fire at 13:08 Moscow time (0908 GMT), which covered an area of 500 square meters, the Interfax news agency quoted the city's police department as saying.
All the victims are construction workers living temporarily in the building, Itar-Tass quoted the Russian Interior Ministry's Moscow Bureau as saying.
Initial reports said five people died of carbon monoxide intake.
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