Achi news desk-
MOSCOW (AFP) – At least eight people were killed when an illegal hostel housing migrants burned down in a village near Moscow on Thursday, officials said.
A fire broke out in the two-storey residential building in the Istrinsky district, northwest of the Russian capital, around 4.00 am (0100 GMT), according to prosecutors. Rescuers said that two residents escaped but that eight bodies were found in the home, which is on the outskirts of a holiday village.
“According to investigators, a 23-year-old man rented the house, which was then let to foreign citizens who were not registered in Russia,” prosecutors said. Firefighters could be seen observing the smoldering wreckage in the morning, as parts of the wall crumbled, video showed.
Prosecutors ruled out gas as a possible cause of the fire. Deadly fires are common in Russia, which has suffered for years from lax safety standards and has struggled to modernize older houses with alarms and firefighting equipment.
Hundreds of thousands of foreigners without legal status are believed to be living in Russia, despite official efforts to crack down on illegal migration.
