“According to preliminary information, eight people died and four others were hospitalized,” the Investigation Committee, responsible for the main criminal cases, said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the emergency services said the fire had affected the ground floor of a 15-storey building, was quickly brought under control shortly before 1 a.m. and led to the evacuation of more than 200 people.
“Bars on the windows prevented people from escaping, this is the main reason for the deaths,” said Andrei Roumiantsev, the acting head of the Moscow emergency services, quoted by the public agency TASS.
He said the hostel’s fire alarm did not work and breaches of safety rules were reported during inspection visits to the establishment in 2019 and last June.
An investigation for “non-compliance with security requirements” has been opened, the Investigation Committee said.
Russia is regularly hit by fires or deadly gas leaks linked to dilapidated infrastructure or negligence