May 7 (Reuters) – At least eight people were killed in Siberia on Saturday when fires broke out in hundreds of buildings in several villages, with strong winds hampering efforts to put out the flames.
In the Krasnoyarsk region, about 3,000 km (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, fires have killed five people in 16 towns in the Kazachinskoye and Sharipovsky districts, according to a statement from the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee. proceedings for causing death by negligence.
The local health ministry said 17 people were injured and 11 were taken to hospital, TASS reported.
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The Federal Forestry Agency said short circuits in power lines had set fire to 350 houses and that strong winds had worsened the situation, TASS reported.
“The planes cannot be used to put out fires due to high wind loads,” the Krasnoyarsk Emergency Service told its Telegram channel.
He posted a video showing the sky darkened with smoke and rescue workers hit by strong gusts as they dealt with a series of fires in rural areas with mostly wooden buildings.
Russia’s air protection service later released footage of forest fires, all of which it said were quickly contained.
The Investigative Committee also reported fires in the neighboring Khakassia region.
A little further west, investigators in the Kemerovo area have also launched criminal proceedings, saying the burnt bodies of three people were found in a residential building in the Tyazhinski area, where more than 50 houses caught fire.
Both groups of investigators said work to determine the cause of the fires was ongoing.
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Reuters Report Edited by Kevin Liffey and Helen Popper
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