At least eight people have reportedly been killed in a fire at a residential building in the Russian resort city of Sochi.
Krasnodar region emergency services said the fire had been put out two hours after it was reported in the pre-dawn hours of Monday. An unnamed Sochi administration spokesperson told Interfax the fire may have been caused by a neighboring barbecue grill.
“According to preliminary data, eight hired workers from [post-Soviet] countries were killed,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Two people were hospitalized with burn wounds, while a third is receiving medical help after jumping out of the building’s second floor, according to the Telegram channel Mash.
Regional investigators said they have opened a criminal case into negligent homicide.
According to the state-run TASS news agency, Sochi administration officials said the land plot where the fire broke out was owned by the state-owned Russian Railways company.
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