Global General

Fire kills five in west Russian city

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-10 16:28

MOSCOW - Five people, including a child, have been killed in a fire in the west Russian city of Vladimir, local media reported on Tuesday.

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Citing an official from the local emergency department, Interfax news agency said the fire broke out in a two-story townhouse at night, when people were celebrating the Victory Day that falls on May 9.

Firefighters discovered the bodies of a man and a woman in their 40s and a 4-year-old girl, the official said, adding that corpses of other two women's were found under the debris.

A Toyota car parked in the house's backyard had also been burnt, she said.

Russian has been plagued by poor fire safety record, as some 15,000 people die in fires across the country annually.

In December 2009, a deadly fire at a nightclub in Russia's Ural city killed more than 150 people, the worst in Russia's history.