NOVOSIBIRSK, March 15, 2004. (RIA Novosti) - According to the preliminary data, four people died and ten were hospitalised as a result of the fire in Novosibirsk, the biggest city in the Asian part of Russia. RIA Novosti was told about it by an officer on duty of the emergencies department in the Novosibirsk Region.
He said that the data were preliminary, because the fire was still being extinguished and the fire fighters could not yet inspect the whole building.
These data were also confirmed in the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
The building of the Main Department for Punishment of the Russian Ministry of Justice in Novosibirsk caught fire on Monday morning. All the personnel were evacuated.
A fire signal was received at 6:10 a. m. , Moscow time. At the present time the fire has swept the second and the third floors of the old brick three-storey building. The fire was given a high category.
