Children die in Tajikistan blaze

The fire swept through the building as the children slept

Thirteen children have died after a blaze swept through an orphanage in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

The orphanage, a wooden structure built in the 1930s, was home to about 100 disabled children.

Witnesses said many neighbours rushed to pull children from the burning building before the firefighters arrived in the early hours of Sunday.

Two children are reported to have been taken to hospital, while the remaining residents were rescued unharmed.

The fire engulfed the building as the children, aged between six and 16 years old, slept in their beds.

As many of them are physically or mentally disabled, some had difficulty escaping as the fire took hold.

Overloaded

"It was terrible. It was dark and we had to run through the rooms looking for children," Martin, a security guard on duty near the home, told the AFP news agency.

"I managed to get six children aged between six and eight out," he said.

Officials believe the use of electric heaters may have overloaded the old building's electrical system, sparking the fire.

Part of the wooden building was destroyed in the blaze and a witness told AFP that firefighters battled for two-and-a-half hours to put out the flames.

The country's health minister denied reports that up to 60 children had to be taken to hospital after the fire.

The BBC's Rahim Rahimian in Dushanbe says the authorities have set up a commission to investigate the incident.

Witnesses claim the emergency services were slow to arrive at the scene, with much of the rescue effort carried out by families in the neighbourhood, he says.

Fires are common in Tajikistan because many homes and public facilities rely on electric, coal and oil stoves for heating, he adds. The problem is made worse by outdated electrics and inadequate fire safety measures in many buildings.