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16 killed, 4 injured as blaze engulfs Moscow warehouse

The picture uploaded on social media shows smoke pillowing after a fire hit a warehouse in Moscow, Russia, August 27, 2016.

A fire has ripped through a warehouse in the Russian capital, Moscow, leaving at least 16 people dead and four others wounded.

The blaze hit the typographic products depot in an industrial zone in Moscow’s northeast on Saturday morning.

The regional branch of the Emergencies Ministry's press service told Russia’s TASS news agency that during the operation to put out the blaze, firefighters discovered a room, which had been cut off by the flames.

"Firefighters tore down the wall and found 16 dead,” it added.

An unnamed Emergencies Ministry official also confirmed the death toll, adding that four other people were taken to hospital, Rossiya-24 TV station reported.

The ministry further said on its website that 12 people were rescued.

Meanwhile, a police source said that the victims were likely refugees from former Soviet Union republics and that the warehouse belonged to a local printing company.

Authorities said the fire, which had engulfed 200 square meters of the depot, was extinguished almost two hours after emergency workers arrived at the scene.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Twitter that the city would probe the incident to determine its cause.

"There was a fire at the warehouse at the industrial area [located] on Altufyevskoe roadway. Unfortunately there is a great number of victims. We will investigate [the incident] with the law enforcement agencies," he said.


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