38 Die in Mental Hospital: Moscow Patients Unable to Escape Fire due to Sedation

A fire that hit a psychiatric hospital outside of Moscow early Friday has killed 38 people, according to officials.

The one-story brick-and-wood hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders, Health Ministry officials said. An Emergencies Ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building, which had wooden beams.

According to Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova, half of the patients had taken sedatives the night before and were unable to escape during the fire.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the federal Investigative Committee.

Investigators said the 38 dead included 36 patients and two doctors. Yet, reports indicate that a nurse managed to escape and save one patient, while another patient got out on his own.The Emergencies Ministry also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyev said as some of the hosptial windows were barred, this also prevented others from making a safe escape. 

Investigators said they are looking at violations of fire regulations and a short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramensky settlement, some 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Moscow.

Vadim Belovoshin of the Emergencies Ministry said that it took firefighters an hour to get to the hospital because a ferry across a canal was closed and they had to make a detour.