Steppe fire kills 2, destroys village in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, Oct 4 (Reuters) At least two people died and up to 100 houses burned to the ground in Kazakhstan after a steppe fire swept through a remote village, the Emergencies Ministry said today.

It said on its Web site http://www.emer.kz that more than 400 people were evacuated from the area in northeastern Kazakhstan as the fire, which started in grass in the open steppe, was spread by wind towards the settlement.

''Two dead bodies were found during a rescue operation,'' the ministry said.

Steppe fires are frequent in the windswept Central Asian country during the dry summer and early autumn months.

REUTERS MS VV1724