Seven people died, three more were injured in fires in the Vitebsk region over the weekend

January 31, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. Seven people died, and three more received burns of varying severity in fires that occurred in the Vitebsk region from January 28 to 30. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the center for propaganda and training at the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Tragic incidents were registered in the Orsha and Polotsk districts, with carelessness when handling fire against the backdrop of alcohol consumption being the main cause of the fires. For example, in the village of Dachnaya, Orsha district, a woman born in 1949 and a man born in 1971 died in a fire in one of the apartments on the third floor of a building. Rescuers managed to pull the owner of the apartment, born in 1946, from the burning apartment; he suffered from smoke inhalation and was hospitalized in the Orsha city hospital. In addition, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations evacuated five people from neighboring apartments in the three-story building. Carelessness while smoking by the deceased is considered the presumed cause of the fire. As established, the deceased came from Novopolotsk to visit a relative. Also, two people died simultaneously in a fire in the village of Podozerye, Polotsk district. Due to a late report of the incident, by the time rescuers arrived, the residential building was already burning down, and outbuildings were engulfed in open flames. The owner of the house, born in 1946, managed to escape from the burning house on his own, receiving burns to his face and hands of varying severity, and was hospitalized in the Ushachi district hospital. The bodies of his deceased wife, born in 1948, and adopted son, born in 1975, were found under the debris of burnt-out building structures. According to preliminary data, carelessness while smoking by the deceased is considered the cause of the fire. In total, since the beginning of the year, 131 fires have occurred in the Vitebsk region, and 33 people have died. -0-