38 In Mental Hospital: 29 Patients Burned Alive In Fire Outside Moscow, Russia

A fire outside of Moscow left 38 dead in a psychiatric hospital early Friday. The hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders; some of those who died were sedated in their beds.

An Emergencies Ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building, which had wooden beams.

Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova discussed the patients and stated that about half of the patients within the hospital took sedatives at night. However, Skvortsova clarified that the patients were not restrained to their beds and were not given any medication that would leave them unconscious without the ability the escape the flames.

A spokeswoman for the federal Investigative Committee did state that of the 38 dead in the mental hospital fire, at least 29 burned alive.

The death count includes 36 dead patients and two doctors. The Emergencies Ministry also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76.

One nurse who saved a patient from burning alive stated that while the facility possessed some barred windows, the doors were not locked.

Investigators said they are looking at violations of fire regulations and a short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramensky settlement, which is located 53 miles north of Moscow.