Four children have died in a horrific fire at a camp retreat in Russia’s Khabarovsk Region. Videos from the scene show the blaze devour the closely-packed tents.
What started as a quiet night in a woodland area in Russia’s Far East, ended in a deadly inferno in the early hours of Tuesday morning. In a matter of moments, fire engulfed the cloth tents clustered at a camping site, with 189 children inside.
The first fatality was a girl who would have been celebrating her 11th birthday in just a few hours. Three more children were comatose for hours before succumbing to burns that covered their bodies almost entirely. The rest were treated for smoke inhalation and received psychological counseling on-site.
Authorities have detained the camp's director as they look into possible "death by negligence."
One of those burned worst was Arseny, who was injured while pulling others out of the fire. Local media said the brave boy managed to bring several girls to safety, but died in the hospital after several hours in a coma.
Harrowing images of the fire have been shared by eyewitnesses. In one short clip, filmed as the fire was leaping from tent to tent, the dumbfounded voice of one of the children is heard saying:
Mom... we’ve got a problem.
The tents were set up on a river bank to accommodate a children’s summer retreat next to a local ski resort. Out of the 26 tents, 20 were incinerated by the time first responders arrived.
It’s still unclear what caused the blaze, but one theory, according to TASS citing a law enforcement source, is that it could have been caused by a faulty electric heater that the children were using to dry clothes.