Moscow dorm blaze: 36 dead
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Firemen stand in front of the burnt out dormitory.
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A fire tears through a university dormitory in Moscow.
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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A fierce fire in a Moscow university dormitory has left 36 students dead and 182 others injured, officials said.
The fire, which broke out before dawn Monday, swept quickly though part of the five-story building at the People's Friendship University on the southwestern outskirts of the Russian capital.
The dorm houses mostly international students. Officials said the fire was centered in the second and third floors of the building and trapped many students as they slept.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations said the number of dead could increase as firemen search the remains of the still smoldering building.
The ministry says the dead and injured are from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Pakistan and several African countries. No Russians are among the casualties.
China's state media reported that 17 Chinese students were missing and another 32 injured in the blaze.
The Chinese Embassy in Moscow sent diplomats to hospitals and to the site of the fire to console the injured and ascertain the whereabouts of those missing, the state-run China News Service, citing embassy officials, reported.
Many of the injured students were said to be suffering from smoke inhalation or injuries caused by jumping from high windows to escape the smoke and flames.
The university was founded by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1960.
In its heyday, it was a showcase institution where students from developing countries received subsidized education to study a heavily Marxist curriculum.
The university's fortunes have declined since the Soviet Union collapsed, and its buildings are reportedly run-down.
Officials say they are investigating the cause of the fire but there are no indications of arson.
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who travelled to the scene of the blaze, speculated that the most likely cause was an electrical short-circuit.
CNN Producer Max Tkachenko contributed to this report.
