At least 10 dead in Russian retirement home fire

MOSCOW - At least 10 people were killed Thursday and seven missing after a blaze swept through a retirement home in the Omsk region in Siberia, Russian news agencies reported citing local emergency officials.

According to the RIA-Novosti there were seven people still missing from the retirement home in the village of Ekaterininskoye, although according to Interfax there could be as many as 17.

Three hundred people residents and staff had been accounted for, according to emergency situations ministry officials.

Seven people were injured, including four who were hospitalised, according to Interfax and RIA Novosti.

Six teams of firefighters had been dispatched to put out the blaze, which broke out shortly after midnight (1700 GMT Wednesday) and was put out five hours later.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, with officials set to begin an investigation.

Russia has had a number of deadly fires over the past year due the failure to follow safety regulations.

In December last year, a fire in a Moscow drug rehabilitation clinic killed 45 women. Many of the victims were trapped by metal bars on the windows that staff could not open and an emergency exit was boarded up.

In March, a fire in a nursing home in southern Russia killed 63, also due to violations of fire safety regulations and the lack of a nearby firefighting station.

Agence France-Presse