MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- The owner of the private retirement home in the Russian city of Kemerovo where a deadly fire occurred was taken in custody on charges of negligence that has led to multiple deaths, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Saturday.
Sputnik reported the fire ignited in the nursing home overnight from Friday to Saturday, killing 22 people and affecting about 180 square metres (1,940 square feet) of premises. According to the Kemerovo regional government, the cause of the fire was the violation of fire safety regulations when using stove heating.
"Investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee in the Kemerovo region charged a 31-year old local resident with a crime under Part 3 Article 238 of the Russian Criminal Code (providing services that do not meet requirements for safety or health of consumers and that have negligently led to the death of two or more people)," the committee wrote on Telegram.
According to preliminary data provided by investigators, the owner of the retirement home had not done anything to repair a faulty boiler despite numerous complaints from the residents.
The emergency services said, citing witnesses, that the fire was aggravated by the fact that there were gas cylinders inside the building.
-- BERNAMA
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