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45 Woman Die in Drug Clinic Fire in Moscow

45 women were killed in a fire Saturday at a drug clinic in Moscow Friday. Moscow`s emergency services reported that the women killed were workers and patients at the clinic, who couldn`t escape when the fire broke out because of the railings that blocked the exits, Alexander Chupriyan, Deputy Emergencies Minister, said: "The number of victims has reached 45. Judging by the position of the bodies, people tried to get out but there was only one fire exit available." 160 people were evacuated from the building, 10 of them critically injured.

The fire broke out while most of the patients in the clinic were asleep and there is a suspicion that this is a case of arson. Yuri Nenashev, head of the Emergencies Ministry fire safety directorate said: "There is a 90 percent probability that it was arson." Moscow`s fire department issued a statement explaining that by the time a call had reached the fire department the fire had spread to most of the building. The fireman arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the call arrived. Yevgeny Bobylov, Moscow Emergency Ministry spokesman, said that the hospital staff didn`t evacuate the patients fast enough adding that "They did not use keys to open grilles for evacuation. As a result, people were caught in a trap."

It has be hypothesized that it took longer than usual to call the firemen because the thick smoke that spread through the building caused many to lose their conciseness. The Moscow Emergency Ministry told reporters that they have filed the courts a request earlier this year to close the clinic due to faulty safety, but the courts did not grant their request.