Seven people killed in fire on a building site in Russia

Moscow, Feb 12 (UNI) At least seven workers were killed early today when a fire broke out in their makeshift living quarters on a building site in the town of Usinsk, in the Russian Komi Republic.

The fire broke out on a site being developed by a private building company, Russian Emergency Situations Ministry reported.

The fire engulfed a sheet-metal shed covering 18 square metres, it said, adding two firefighting units worked for about two hours to extinguish the flames.

''Seven workers from Samara on the Volga were killed in the fire,'' Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov told RIA Novosti news agency.

According to preliminary reports, eight workers were in the shed at the time of the fire. So far seven bodies have been recovered from the debris and the search for the other worker is continuing. An investigation into the incident is being conducted.

The incident follows a similar blaze yesterday that killed four construction workers at a building site in Moscow which was reportedly caused by a failure to observe fire safety regulations.

''The fire occurred due to a disregard for fire safety regulations,'' the spokesman said.

Fire accidents at construction sites in Moscow have recently become a common incident. The construction companies mostly employ migrant workers from former Soviet republics.

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