At least 52 people died in wildfires raging throughout Russia, the health and social development ministry said on Friday.
"A total of 471 people turned for medical help and 72 were hospitalized, 43 fire victims are currently in hospitals and 52 have died," the ministry said.
Wildfires are raging in 22 Russian regions. On Thursday, NASA satellites Terra and Aqua registered 535 hotspots from wildfires across Russia.
More than 150,000 personnel are working to fight the fires, which have been sparked by a prolonged drought and weeks of abnormally high temperatures.
Moscow and a dozen other cities have been wrapped in a thick layer of smog. Health experts say pollution levels are so high that breathing has become as dangerous as smoking several packs of cigarettes a day.
MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti)
