38 killed in fire at Kazakh drug treatment centre

Officials in Kazakhstan say 38 people have been killed in a fire at a drug treatment centre.

The Emergency Situations Ministry says the blaze broke out early Sunday and spread over an area of 7,000 sq. feet (650 square meters) in Taldykorgan in the Central Asian nation’s south.

Authorities say emergency workers evacuated 40 people from the building during the fire.

Violations of safety regulations are common in the former Soviet state and deaths caused by accidents and fires are frequent.

According to Emergency Situations Ministry statistics there have been almost 10,000 fires in Kazakhstan in the first eight months of 2009.