At least eight people were killed and one other was injured in a hostel fire in the Moscow region town of Istra, emergency officials said Friday.
The fire broke out at 4:00 a.m. local time and was extinguished around five hours later, the Emergency Situations Ministry’s local branch said, according to the news agency Moskva.
A video shared by Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry showed the charred remains of the building.
The Moscow region prosecutor’s office said an unidentified 23-year-old man had rented the building and sublet it to undocumented migrants. The law enforcement body said it launched a criminal investigation into the organization of illegal migration following the incident.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, launched a separate investigation into negligent homicide.
The state-run news agency RIA Novosti, citing an anonymous emergency official, reported that the Istra hostel fire may have spread from a fireplace and people may have died from smoke inhalation.
