SYKTYVKAR, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - At least 22 people died after fire broke out in a wooden care home in northwest Russia, the regional investigation department said on Sunday.
The blaze started late on Saturday in the village of Podyelsk, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) away from Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi Republic. Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control early on Sunday. The fire was fully extinguished several hours after that.
By now, 22 bodies and two body fragments have been found, the investigation department said.
The care home housed 27 residents, most of them elderly people, earlier reports said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to carry out a thorough investigation of the incident and dispatched a special envoy to investigate the case.
