Hostel fire kills 13 people in Kazakhstan
A view of the site of a hostel fire in Almaty on Thursday.
Thirteen people died in a fire at a hostel in Kazakhstan's Almaty on Thursday, the city's emergencies department said in a statement.
The fire broke out in the basement of a three-story residential building, whose 1st floor and basement had been converted into a hostel.
Emergency services arrived at the scene shortly after reports of the blaze, and saw the fire had already engulfed the basement of the building.
According to preliminary information, the deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. The Almaty Public Health Department later reported that two people were hospitalized.
A total of 72 people were at the hostel at the time of the fire, and 59 people managed to evacuate safely.
