TWO patients died today after a fire broke out in an intensive care unit of an infectious diseases hospital, typically used to treat Covid patients, in Astrakhan in southern Russia.

Accidental fires are common in Russia, where hundreds of blazes are recorded each year due to lax safety standards as well as ageing and dilapidated infrastructure.

“The bodies of two people have been found,” the Investigative Committee, which handles serious crimes, said in a statement.

Investigators said they launched a probe into the case without providing further details.

Since the start of the pandemic, fires have affected a number of coronavirus hospitals in the country. 

In August, nine coronavirus patients died in the region of North Ossetia after an oxygen pipe ruptured at a hospital in the regional capital Vladikavkaz. – AFP, December 24, 2021.