Fifteen people have been killed in burning homes in Russia, with a single blaze, which prosecutors blamed Friday on arson, wiping out a father, mother and seven of their young children. Media reports said the father, 34, an alcoholic who had threatened suicide, was suspected of lighting the fire which killed him, his 31-year-old wife, five boys and two girls aged 4 to 13 near the city of Perm.
The public prosecutor's office confirmed arson was suspected, the Interfax news agency reported. One child, who had been away staying with grandparents, survived the tragedy. In the Saratov district in the Volga valley, two other fires killed six people. In Pugachyov a fire killed three children and their mother. In Khvalynsk two children died in a fire. Authorities did not initially state any suspected causes.