Seven killed, 12 injured in fire in home for mentally ill outside Moscow

A fire broke out early Thursday in a home for the mentally ill outside Moscow, killing seven people and injuring 12 others, Ekho Moskvy radio reported. The radio cited Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov as saying that some 50 people were inside the building when the blaze broke out around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT).

There was no information on possible causes of the fire, which occurred in the town of Dmitrovsky Pogost east of Moscow. The ITAR-Tass news agency reported that the firefighters' task was complicated by the fact that there was no ready water near the building, and it had to be brought from about a kilometer (half-mile) away, reports ITAR-Tass. I.L.