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Bodies of all firefighters killed by taiga fire identified

The Russian Investigative Committee's authorities in the republic have opened a criminal case
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

GORNO-ALTAISK, June 9 (Itar-Tass) — Relatives identified the bodies of all the eight firefighters in Kyzyl on Saturday, a Tuva government source told Itar-Tass.

The firefighters died when fighting a taiga blaze in Tuva on June 6. The bodies were carried by ground transport to the republic's capital from the remote Bai-Taiga district.

Expert examinations will be conducted, including by forensic medical experts, to establish the causes of the deaths.

The Russian Investigative Committee's authorities in the republic have opened a criminal case over the death on charges of "causing two or more deaths through carelessness".

The investigation will assess the actions of officials who failed to properly organize the work of the air forest guard service that resulted in the death of eight people.

The investigation is continuing.

On June 6, a fire broke out in the taiga and swept 500 hectares. The area in the mountains where the fire broke out was inaccessible for transport, and a group of 14 parachutists from the Tuva air base landed there to fight the blaze. The fire suddenly spread to tops of trees. It caused the death of eight firefighters. The other six survived.