According to a statement released by Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations late on Tuesday night, a fire that broke out in a multi-storey building in the centre of Moscow resulted in the deaths of six individuals, including two children.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the messaging network Telegram that the incident caused nine injuries and forced the evacuation of two hundred people from the building, which housed a hotel.
After the fire was put out at around 2100 GMT (just before midnight), an assessment of each individual room was carried out.
The Russian Investigative Committee said on Telegram that they had initiated a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire that occurred on the fifth level of the building.
According to reports from Russian news media, the 41-year-old building in the Tagansky neighborhood of Moscow is home to both the MKM hotel on the lower levels and flats that were once used as a hostel on the top floors. It was stated by Russia’s TASS agency, citing an anonymous official from the emergency services, that arson was the main root cause of the fire in the area.
