Latvian care home blaze kills at least 25

ALSUNGA, Latvia, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A fire tore through a home for the disabled in western Latvia on Friday, killing at least 25 people in what officials said was one of the highest death tolls from a blaze in the country's history.

The cause of the fire in the village of Alsunga, about 185 km (115 miles) from the capital city Riga, was unclear.

However, an electrical fault, possibly linked to heating, was suspected on a night when temperatures in some areas hit their lowest for 83 years.

Temperatures in Latvia in winter regularly plunge below freezing.

Today night, temperatures sank to -30 Celsius in parts of Latvia. In Alsunga it was -20 Celsius, a spokesman for the meteorological service said.

''It has been a night of accident and tragedy in Latvia,'' President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said in a statement. He also sent his condolences to relatives of the victims and the prime minister said he would propose a day of mourning on February 28.

Welfare Ministry spokesman Juris Vigulis said there were 25 dead, although a fire service spokesman said work was still going on at the building and it was unclear if there were more missing or dead.

Welfare Minister Dagnija Stake told a radio station earlier that ''as far as I know 26 people (have died).'' He said the fire was under control.

A fireman at the site of the blaze said five bodies had so far been found.

LETA news agency quoted the head of the fire service, Ainars Pencis, as saying the fire was the biggest in modern Latvian history. He said rescue work had been hindered because water had frozen in the firemen's water hoses.

Vike-Freiberga called on people to be very careful when trying to warm themselves on freezing winter nights as every year fires were caused by heaters.

Vigulis said the care centre was an old brick building built in 1890. It is one of 33 social care centres in Latvia and, with 90 residents it is one of the smaller ones. Survivors of the blaze have been moved to a nearby school, Vigulis added.

Local police have also opened an investigation into the blaze, the LETA agency added.

REUTERS BDP ND1810