22 people were reportedly murdered in an overnight fire at a for-profit, illegal nursing home in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, according to a report from Russia's investigative committee on Saturday.
The investigation team said on Telegram that "the death toll has grown to 22" and that "a fire broke out overnight at a private house utilised as an illegal nursing home."
A previous report said that 20 people had died.
“Six more were injured, two of them hospitalised and are in serious condition with burns,” the Telegram message continued.
According to TASS, the Russian government-run news service, the fire consumed 180 square metres of a two-story wooden building.
The video shared by emergency services shows a long line of emergency vehicles queued up outside the blazing structure as firefighters battle flames that send plumes of smoke into the night sky.
Later, images released by emergency services showed the structure entirely destroyed by fire.
According to the Kuzbass regional administration’s website, “the preliminary cause of the incident was a violation of fire safety rules when operating a heating stove.”
An investigation into negligent homicide has been initiated, according to Russia’s investigative committee, which looks into serious offences.
On January 1, 2018, a fire in a Kemerovo shopping mall claimed sixty people’s lives, including children and teens.