Six killed in apartment building fire in Minsk

December 17, BPN. A fire broke out in a block of flats in Minsk’s Central District in the early hours of December 17, the emergencies ministry reported.

“Six people were found in the burning apartments at the scene of the fire, a child among them. Medics pronounced them dead,” it said.

Twenty people have been rescued, three of whom are in hospital, it said. The fire might have been caused by a gas explosion or ignition of flammable vapours, it added.

The blaze was reportedly extinguished at about 4 a.m. The Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal probe into the incident.