(Vatican Radio) At least 37 people have been killed after a fire raged through part
of a psychiatric hospital in northwestern Russia.
Russian firefighters
desperately tried to extinguish the blaze at the psychiatric hospital in the village
of Luka in the Novgorod region. Officials said the overnight fire erupted at around
3 a.m. local time Friday and quickly engulfed the mostly wooden structure dating back
to the 19th century. The fire brigade arrived too late to prevent the total destruction
of the one-story complex.
Authorities said there were about 60 people
inside when the flames engulfed the facility, but only about 20 of them managed to
escape. Some were apparently killed while under sedation as fog slowed firefighters
travelling from 45 kilometers (28 miles) away.
Local media say initial
investigations suggest the blaze at the hospital could have been started by a smoking
patient, setting his bed on fire. However, it comes amid wider concerns about a lack
of fire safety standards in Russia's hospitals and other institutions such as orphanages
and homes for the elderly. The Emergency Situations Ministry had demanded the facility
in Luka to be closed, but the hospital administration reportedly won permission to
use it until next year.
This is not an isolated incident. In April another
massive blaze hit a psychiatric hospital, just outside the capital Moscow, killing
at least 38 people. Authorities pledged at the time to inspect all psychiatric hospitals
in Russia. Yet, Friday's fire has raised fresh doubts about the effectiveness of authorities.
Russia reported 12,000 fire-related deaths last year. That is four times
more than the 3,000 deaths reported in the United States in 2011, where the population
is roughly double that of Russia.