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Russian Emergencies Ministry colonel who died from a fire to be buried in Kazan

Kostin will be posthumously awarded the Order of Courage

KAZAN, March 15 /TASS/. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Tatarstan’s Emergencies Ministry who gave his life for saving people from the enflamed Admiral trade center will be buried in Kazan on Sunday.

"A civilian funeral service for the dead will start at 10:00 Moscow time and will last till 11:30. After that, a church burial will take place at the Arkskoye cemetery," Andrei Rodygin, the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, told TASS.

Kostin will be posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.

While extinguishing fire in Kazan’s Admiral trade center, Kostin gave his life for saving hundreds of people trapped in the burning building, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said expressing condolences to the families and colleagues of the dead.

Rescuers are planning to find the bodies of another two fire victims under the rubble in the burnt Admiral trade center in Kazan in the course of the night, Igor Panshin, the head of the Privolzhsky regional center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, said on Saturday.

"We hope to reach a place in the fourth aperture where two people may be lying," Panshin explained adding that a total of five people were still trapped under the debris.

Previous reports said there were more than 10 people under the heap of construction debris.

A Granit mobile complex used for extinguishing fires and emergency and rescue works at facilities with constructions made of high-strength materials left Moscow at 18:30 Moscow time on Saturday.

"The equipment will make it possible to disassemble the metallic load bearing structures, which are slowing down the works. Cool bitumen is another serious problem for the rescuers. Our motor saws are getting stuck in it," Pan Shin said.

According to the latest reports, the death toll from a fire that occurred in the Admiral trade center in Kazan on March 11 has reached 17 people. Twelve bodies have been identified. More than 60 people were injured.

According to the regional Health Ministry, 13 people with traumas remain in Kazan hospitals. "One victim - a citizen of Vietnam - is staying in the intensive care ward. He does not need a surgery," Adel Vafin, Tatarstan’s public health minister, told TASS.

Psychologists are working with the relatives of missing people.