11 workers die after massive fire breaks out in Siberian village

Eleven people have reportedly died after a massive fire ripped through a one-storey wooden shack in Siberia. Officials said on Tuesday that the wooden shack was located in a remote Siberian village, in the region of Tomsk. The preliminary information provided by regional authorities suggests that ten of the victims in the fire were citizens of Uzbekistan.

Fire kills migrant workers

Russian emergency ministry said in its statement that they found 11 bodies. Authorities have said that the fire broke out on a private sawmill in the Prichulymsky settlement. The wooden settlement that caught fire was used to house migrant workers despite the fact that the wooden shack in question had sub-standard conditions.

Investigators at the scene told Russian local media that a criminal probe has been launched into negligent manslaughter since the deaths were caused by substandard fire safety arrangements. The regional governor also arrived at the scene shortly after the blaze was contained and tasked the officials under him with conducting a region-wide fire safety inspection so that this tragedy may not be repeated.

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Reports have stated that the fire started around midnight and that the blaze covered an area of 208 square meters and even the house's roof collapsed in the fire. Local authorities reported that the house was rented out by a Chinese company and is supposed to be occupied by 14 residents who are of various nationalities. The migrant workers who were supposed to be occupying the house were from China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. One of the houses occupants locations still remains unknown.
While 10 of the victims were Uzbeks, local authorities have identified the remaining victim to be a Russian woman.

Millions of migrant workers from central Asian countries live and work in Russia, they are often employed to perform menial jobs and work under lax safety conditions due to the countries laws. Because of open visa regulations extended to nine former Soviet states, there are roughly 14 million labour migrants that enter Russia looking for better opportunities each year. A very large section of this migrant labour force is vulnerable to exploitation according to reports.

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