Riga: Eight dead in fire in an illegal hostel

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Fireman in Riga

Photo: GINTS IVUSKANS / AFP

In the early hours of the morning, the fire brigade of the Latvian capital Riga was called to a six-story apartment building in which a fire had broken out.

A mobile phone video on Twitter shows how smoke and flames rise from behind a gable.

Eight people are said to have died in the flames, and at least nine others were injured, according to Deputy Police Chief Andrejs Grishins.

They suffered burns and smoke inhalation, among other things.

As the mayor Martins Stakis announced, most of the victims are foreign tourists.

According to the authorities, the house is said to have been an illegally run hostel that was undergoing unauthorized renovations.

The building on Merkela Street is not far from the historic center.

It was completely evacuated and the victims were given alternative quarters, the BBC reported.

Accommodation should be closed

It took the fire brigade hours to put out the fire.

It is not yet clear who the dead are.

Deputy Police Chief Grishins said that DNA tests are likely to be necessary to identify them.

The victims' documents were burned.

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Illegal hostel in Riga after the fire

Photo: JANIS LAIZANS / REUTERS

According to the authorities, the illegal hostel was about to close.

According to Interior Minister Sandis Girgens, the fire brigade has been prevented from performing planned security checks since January.

"They had thick steel doors installed and the inn wouldn't let our firefighters in," Girgens said.

President Egils Levits expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims on Latvian television.

ala / AFP