Eleven patients killed after becoming trapped in burning care home in Russia

A care home worker rescued other three elderly people by pushing them through the window

The picture shows a retirement home on fire in Ishbuldino village in the region of Bashkortostan (via REUTERS)

Eleven people were killed after becoming trapped inside a blazing retirement home in central Russia as a fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday.

Four others survived the blaze, including one worker and three residents. The staff member helped the three patients escape through windows.

All those who perished were elderly with mobility issues. The fire took place in the village of Ishbuldino, said authorities.

Firefighters batteled with the blaze for three hours and all 11 bodies of the victims were eventually recovered, the emergencies ministry said in a statement.

"At the time the fire started there were 15 people in the room, four of whom managed to escape on their own. In the course of extinguishing the fire, the bodies of 11 people were found," Russia’s investigative committee said in a statement.

The care home was registered as a non-profit organization for elderly. The facility was not licensed to provide overnight stay to the people, a local official told the Interfax news agency.

The cause of the fire is yet to be established, but careless handling of fire or heating equipment is said to the primary case of the fire.

“I opened a terrace door, but everything was already up in flames. I took in a lot of smoke,” RT news quoted the care worker as saying.  

“I began waking people up. I don’t know how I did it, but I somehow managed to push three elderly men outside through the window… I was running on the snow with no shoes on, with cuts and burns all over my legs.”

A probe has been launched into the fire tragedy to know the cause of the fire by Russia’s investigative committee.