Firefighters rescued two people and evacuated eight from a burning apartment in Vitebsk.
Firefighters rescued a ninth-grader and his stepfather from a burning apartment in Vitebsk and evacuated eight residents of a high-rise building, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Around 6 p.m. on November 22, the Ministry of Emergency Situations received a call from neighbors about a fire in an apartment. Arriving rescuers found open burning in an apartment on the seventh floor of an eight-story building. Ministry of Emergency Situations workers rescued the son of the homeowner, a 9th-grade student, and her common-law husband born in 1974. The body of the homeowner, born in 1979, was found in the bathroom. For the safety of the building's residents, 8 residents had to be evacuated from the eighth floor.
According to preliminary data, the deceased suffocated in the smoke. The boy sustained burns to 35% of his body, and his partner - 75%. Rescued by ambulance crews, they were taken to the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Hospital. They are currently in intensive care. According to neighbors, the man abused alcohol. The day before the incident, a neighbor saw him with a canister in his hands, and a little later heard the woman's cries for help.
The cause of the fire is being established. The Investigative Committee Department for the Vitebsk Region is conducting an investigation.