Two Indian girls, studying at a Russian University were killed in a fire at the University in Western Russia.
India’s External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted about this unfortunate accident on Monday.
“We have lost two Indian girl students (both from Maharashtra) studying at Smolensk Medical Academy in Russia in a fire accident,” Swaraj tweeted late Monday night.
The minister further said: “Some students are injured. They are out of danger. The place is 400km from Moscow. Our team has already reached there.”
The girls have been identified as 20-year-old Karishma Bhosale and 22-year-old Pooja Kallur. Karishma is from Pune while Pooja hailed from Mumbai. Karishma and Pooja were roommates at the dormitory that caught fire.
The medical university where Karishma and Pooja studied has many Indian students. According to the Russian investigative committee, the preliminary report showed that fire occurred at the fourth floor of the dormitory of the university on Sunday morning. The girls are believed to have died due to suffocation.
According to Indian newspaper – Hindustan Times, parents have raised questions about the rescue operations where around 200 students were evacuated. Parents told the newspaper’s correspondent that they were finding it difficult to access information due to language barrier.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the two girls is expected to arrive in Mumbai on Wednesday.
