DUSHANBE, February 1, Asia-Plus - Eight people died and three were hurt in a blaze that swept through a room in a building under construction north of Moscow.  

According to Russian media, the fire broke out Wednesday, early in the morning, at around 4:00 a.m., on the second floor of a sports complex in the Mytishchi district. Preliminary reports said the victims were construction workers who lived inside the future sports center while it was being built.

The room contained three beds where the bodies were found, RIA Novosti reported, adding that one of those injured had been hospitalized and two others received medical aid on the spot.

In the meantime, a source at the Tajik Embassy in Moscow said that three guest workers had been taken to the hospital and one of them is in serious condition. 

According to information from the Tajik Embassy in Moscow, one of those killed by the fire was identified as a 20-year-old resident of Tajikistan’s Jomi district Siroj Safarov. 

In all, some 60 builders, primarily labor migrants from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have  worked there.  According to the latest information, the room caught fire because the victims did not observe fire safety rules when using electric heaters and the construction project itself was in breach of fire safety regulations.

Russian rescuers said another reason could be that the people tried to put out the fire themselves and did not call the firefighters in time, adding that there was also a lot of smoke, which could have asphyxiated the victims.