7 killed, dozens injured in fire at Moscow university
Oct 2007: Fire broke out Tuesday at a five-story university building in Moscow, killing at
least seven people and injuring dozens of others, Russian emergency officials
said.
The blaze, which started around 1 p.m. (0900 GMT) at the Moscow State
Institute of State and Corporate Management, forced some students and teachers
to climb onto tree branches or jump four or five stories into firefighters'
rescue nets below.
GRAPHIC Scene at a horrfic Fire in Moscow.
Others were forced to climb down drainpipes to safety, and rescuers called in
helicopters to evacuate people and drop water on the building's roof.
At least seven people died in the blaze and 35 were treated for smoke
inhalation, burns and other injuries, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman
Veronika Smolskaya said.
Russia records nearly 18,000 fire deaths a year - several times the
per-capita rate of the United States and other Western countries.
Deadly blazes at schools, hospitals and other state-run facilities in recent
years have revealed official negligence and rampant violations of fire safety
rules.
International Herald Tribune
