At least 11 people were dead after a fire in a Moscow factory caused the roof to collapse, authorities said today.
Investigators said the blaze engulfed an area covering 3,000 square metres of the factory situated in the city’s east.
“The bodies of 11 people were recovered when the fire was put out,” the local branch of the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
The fire broke out at around 1130 IST yesterday and was only extinguished around five hours later, authorities said.
The cause for the blaze remains unknown. A criminal investigation was launched to determine whether it may have been caused by negligence or arson.
The emergency situations ministry initially reported that there had been no fatalities in the fire, but investigators later said that bodies had been recovered from the site.
The victims are believed to be migrant workers, Russian news agencies reported.