Seven migrant workers dead in Russian blaze

Seven construction workers from Tajikistan died in western Siberia Saturday when the shipping container they used as a home at a building site caught fire, officials said. "Seven people died, while three were poisoned by the fumes and hospitalised," the emergencies ministry's branch in the oil-rich Tyumen region said.
The suspected cause was a short-circuit in an electric heater, used to warm the container which was lined with wood and insulation to keep out the cold, Russia's Investigative Committee said. Regional prosecutors said all victims were citizens of Tajikistan, an impoverished ex-Soviet Central Asian country from which many people seek low-paid labour jobs in Russia. The container was located at a construction site for a poultry farm.