Moscow: In the second incident of its kind in four days, 28 children in the age group of eight to 14 died in sleep and 142 were injured in the wee hours of April 10, when a fire engulfed a boarding school for deaf and dumb in Southern Russia.

Of the injured, 17 children were in critical condition and Moscow has rushed a special plane with top medical specialists and relief supplies to Makhachkala, the capital of the Southern Russian Republic of Dagestan, where the incident took place.

According to the spokesman of the Emergency Situations and Disaster Management Ministry, all children were in eight to 14 age group and were sleeping in dormitories when the fire broke out on April 10 morning.

The blaze destroyed the two-storey building, he said adding the children, all deaf, did not hear as the fire broke out and many had to be woken up to be evacuated.

Short-circuit is believed to be the cause of fire, which spread very fast due to strong wind, media reports quoted rescuers as saying.

At the cabinet meeting on April 10, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has ordered all concerned ministries to immediately start inspections of school buildings throughout Russia to avert such cases mostly caused by poor maintenance.

He also ordered Finance Ministry to provide funds for ex-gratia payments to the affected families.

The tragedy follows the deaths of 21 Russian children in a fire that destroyed a school in Eastern Siberia on April 7.

PTI