Burnt "Sails"

Ten people were killed and one was seriously injured as a result of a strong fire that broke out yesterday afternoon in the north-west of Moscow in the elite residential complex "Scarlet Sails" under construction on the banks of the Moskva River. The signal about a fire in the three-level underground garage of building No. 4 on Aviatsionnaya Street was received by the fire department at about noon. According to preliminary data from the GUGPS, in one of the construction sheds located on the top floor of the garage, the insulating wool and paint stored there caught fire due to a short circuit in the electrical wiring. 20 fire brigades, rescuers and several ambulance crews immediately rushed to the scene.

Initially, the fire area was about 80 square meters. meters, however, after the high temperature began to explode the acetylene cylinders stored nearby from welding machines, the firefighters had to retreat. And within a few minutes the fire engulfed an area of ​​about 400 square meters. meters. The fire extinguishing was complicated by high temperatures and heavy smoke in the confined space of the garage. In addition, it turned out that about fifty workers were trapped in a smoke trap in the garage and had to be urgently evacuated. Later, when firefighters were able to make their way to the site of the fire, 11 more workers were found in one of the cabins, apparently asleep and unable to save themselves. 10 of them, suffocated by carbon monoxide, were already dead, another was sent to the hospital in serious condition.

As a result, a total of 50 fire engines and 120 fighters were deployed to fight the fire in Scarlet Sails, and after four hours they still managed to knock down the main flame. Until late yesterday evening, under the hull of the “Scarlet Sails”, firefighters were clearing out the resulting rubble and pouring out smoldering building materials.

According to preliminary data from operatives, all the dead workers turned out to be guest workers - residents of other republics of the former USSR, who were recruited to work on the capital's construction site and lived illegally right there, in an underground garage. Apparently, it was they who, in violation of fire safety rules, brought electricity into their barracks from their home construction site, which they used for heating and cooking. The Don-Stroy company, which owns the Scarlet Sails complex, yesterday confirmed the fact of the fire, but did not comment on the fact that workers were living at the construction site.

Valery CHALIKOV