Fire at drug teratment center in Kazakhstan kills 37

2009-09-14 10:26 BJT

Watch Video

Play Video

Fire swept through a drug treatment center in Kazakhstan on Sunday,killing 37 patients who found their escape blocked by barred windows and locked doors. The center had a long history of safety violations.

The blaze broke out around 5:30 AM on Sunday, and quickly spread through the single-story old building outside the country's largest city Almaty. About 40 people were evacuated.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Locked doors on wards and bars on the windows blocked some potential escape routes.

Inspectors found a number of violations in the 7,000-square-foot building during a visit in May, and the building had no fire alarm system.

Editor: Zhang Pengfei | Source: CCTV.com