MOSCOW, April 26 (Itar-Tass) – The bodies of all the 38 people have been found at the mental hospital fire site in the Moscow Region, the head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's department for control, Yuri Deshevykh, said.
The search work is completed. The body of the 38th victim is found. All the people were found in their beds, including nurses in the rest rooms.
Investigators continue to work at the site.
The Russian Investigative Committee’s Moscow regional department has opened a criminal case over the tragedy on charges of fire safety regulations violation that caused deaths.
Investigators question the chief physician, his deputies, the duty physician, who was in another building of the hospital at the moment, and the survivors – a nurse and two patients.
According to the preliminary information, the fire broke out at a sofa in a rest room.
The nurse on the night at 01:00 went around in the hospital to see that everything was in order. The fire alarm signaled at about 02:00. There was thick smoke. She could lead one female patient out and shouted to the rest to go out, an Investigative Committee (SK) source said.
One of the patients who survived was also questioned. He explained that a drug addict was placed in their building the day before. The man felt very bad. He continuously smoked, despite the personnel's prohibition.
The commercial organization that installed the fire alarm system in the hospital is found. Investigators will question managers of the organization.
New patients were usually placed in the building, where the fire broke out.
Investigators consider all the possible versions of the fire causes, including carelessness, an electric equipment defect, arson and others, an SK source said.
The examination of the site is continuing. All the 38 bodies are recovered from the site. Twenty nine of them were hit by the flame.
The Moscow Region's Health Minister Nina Suslonova said the last inspection of the mental hospital did not detect any violations
The fire spread very fast in the hospital. The nurse who attempted to put it out with a fire extinguisher could not do it, Deshevykh, head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's department for control, told Itar-Tass earlier.
The nearest station of firefighters is located about 50 km away from the site, which does not comply with the regulations, the official noted.
The nurse saw a fire and began to fight it with a fire extinguisher. She failed to put the blaze out, and the burning area enlarged. One of the patients was in the corridor. The woman with the patient called a guard who was in another hospital building. The guard called firemen, the official said. Another patient himself got out of the burning building.
There were 41 people in the hospital. Three survived, and 38 are dead.
The nearest station of firefighters is located 51 km away from the settlement. Such a long distance to a fire-fighting service does not conform to the fire safety regulations, under which, firefighters must arrive at a site in a rural area no later than in 20 minutes, the official explained.
Setting up stations of firefighters in residential areas is under the jurisdiction of local authorities. The regional authorities planned to open a post of firefighters ten km away from the settlement in the summer of this year, he said.
The patients took medicines before going to sleep in accordance with their treatment prescriptions.
The Moscow Region's Acting Governor Andrei Vorobyov has declared mourning in connection with the tragedy in the settlement of Ramensky, the Moscow Region, where people died in the fire in the mental hospital. The governor declared mourning in the Moscow Region on April 27, his press service told Itar-Tass.