Children die in Tajikistan blaze

[Guest guest]

Sunday,

8 January 2006,

17:25 GMT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children

die in Tajikistan blaze

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fire swept

through the building as the children slept

 

 

 

Thirteen

children have died after a blaze swept through an orphanage in Dushanbe, the

capital of Tajikistan.

The orphanage, a wooden structure built in the 1930s, was home

to about 100 disabled children.

Witnesses said many neighbours rushed to pull children from the

burning building before the firefighters arrived in the early hours of Sunday.

Two children are reported to have been taken to hospital, while

the remaining residents were rescued unharmed.

The fire engulfed the building as the children, aged between six

and 16 years old, slept in their beds.

As many of them are physically or mentally disabled, some had

difficulty escaping as the fire took hold.

Overloaded

" It was terrible. It was dark and we had to run through the

rooms looking for children, " Martin, a security guard on duty near the

home, told the AFP news agency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" I managed to get six children aged

between six and eight out, " he said.

Officials believe the use of electric heaters may have

overloaded the old building's electrical system,

sparking the fire.

Part of the wooden building was destroyed in the blaze and a

witness told AFP that firefighters battled for two-and-a-half hours to put

out the flames.

The country's health minister

denied reports that up to 60 children had to be taken to hospital after the

fire.

The BBC's Rahim Rahimian in Dushanbe says the

authorities have set up a commission to investigate the incident.

Witnesses claim the emergency services were slow to arrive at

the scene, with much of the rescue effort carried out by families in the

neighbourhood, he says.

Fires are common in Tajikistan because many homes and

public facilities rely on electric, coal and oil stoves for heating, he adds.

The problem is made worse by outdated electrics and inadequate fire safety

measures in many buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4591952.stm

 

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