MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) - The death toll after the Thursday collapse of a Moscow market roof rose to 65, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said Saturday.
"According to the latest information, 98 people were staying in the market when its roof collapsed killing 65 and injuring 33," a ministry spokesman said adding that 64 bodies had been identified and 24 people remained in Moscow hospitals.
The roof at the Basmanny market in downtown Moscow partially collapsed early Thursday and rescue workers continued the search for bodies and survivors throughout the day. At present, the rescue operation has been completed, but the clearing of the debris will reportedly take about four days.
The ministry said most victims were citizens of former Soviet republics, including 45 Azerbaijanis, eight Georgians, five Tajiks and three Uzbeks.
Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief doctor and head of the Federal Consumer Rights and Welfare Service, said no one would have been killed if sanitary demands had been observed at the Basmanny market.
According to him, the death toll proves that "elementary sanitary demands to people selling food and places where this happens are not observed at our markets."
He said the lack of civilized migration policy was among the causes of the tragedy.
"I am convinced that most people [killed and injured in the roof collapse] are illegal [migrants]," Onishchenko said.
He added that anti-sanitary living conditions of market workers "could lead to serious consequences... such as epidemic spread of diseases."
The chief doctor said his service was checking Moscow markets but this was insufficient to prevent such tragedies.
