Moscow (AP) - A fire at a sawmill in a village in Russia’s Siberia killed 11 people and injured two more on Tuesday morning, emergency officials said. One person remains unaccounted-for.
Ten victims were identified as Uzbek nationals and one as a Tajik.
The fire broke out in a single-story wooden building rented by an unnamed Chinese company and used as a dormitory for the sawmill workers. It was most likely sparked by a malfunctioning electric heater, local authorities said. Firefighters battled the blaze for more than two hours.
A total of 14 people - Uzbek, Tajik and Chinese nationals - lived in the building, in the Tomsk region. Two workers were able to get out but sustained injuries. The fate of the final occupant is unknown.
Russian police have opened a criminal probe.
Uzbek officials said they were working on identifying the bodies and transporting them back to Uzbekistan.
Earlier this month a fire at a greenhouse farm in a Moscow suburb killed eight migrant workers from Vietnam.
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