22 killed in Russia nursing home fire

A fire erupted overnight in a private illegal nursing home in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, killing 22 people, Russia's investigative committee said yesterday.

"A fire broke out overnight in a private property used as an illegal nursing home," the investigative committee said on Telegram, adding that "the death toll has risen to 22."

An earlier statement said 20 people had died.

"Six more were injured, two of them were hospitalised and are in serious condition with burns" the Telegram statement added.

The fire spread over 180 square metres in a two-storey wooden building, the Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.

Images released by emergency services showed the building later completely burned out.