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Fire kills 14 Vietnamese migrant workers in Russia

12 September 2012 02:11 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A fire has swept through a garment factory outside Moscow, killing 14 Vietnamese migrant workers, APA reports quoting Press TV.

A spokesman for Russian Emergency Ministry told AFP that the incident happened on Tuesday in a three-story building in the town of Yegoryevsk, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Moscow.

The Russian Investigative Committee said a probe launched into possible violation of fire safety regulations found no sign of a â€œviolent deathâ€.

It said investigators and police were still inspecting the area around the building that used to house a cotton factory in a bid to identify the dead bodies.

A police source told Life News website that the workers were locked from the outside by their employers to sow clothing in the small room.

Roughly five million migrant workers are reported to be working illegally in Russia.

In its latest migration report, the World Bank said that migrant remittances from Russia totaled $18.7 billion in 2010, making it one of the worldâ€™s biggest destinations for migrants.