Putin: Russian Authorities Will Help the Families of Victims of the Tragedy in Makhachkala - 10 April, 2003

President Vladimir Putin has said that the Russian leadership will do its best to help the families of those who were injured or died as a result of the tragedy in Makhachkala (the Republic of Daghestan, the North Caucasus).

While receiving President of Turkmenia Saparmurat Niyazov on Thursday in the Kremlin, the Russian president said that "unfortunately, the meeting is going on against the background of the tragedy that happened in Daghestan." The head of the state said that he had just talked about the accident with Chairman of the Daghestani State Council Magomedali Magomedov.

Last night, the fire in the boarding school for deaf and dumb children in Makhachkala killed 28 kids.

In his turn, the President of Turkmenistan expressed condolences to the families and the relatives of those who died or were injured. He wished them "to mend their psychological wounds as soon as possible."