4 Russian children die in fire while mom is out drinking

USPA News - A 28-year-old mother in Siberia has been arrested after her four young children died in a house fire while she was out drinking alcohol with a friend, authorities said on Wednesday. An electrical fault or careless handling of fire is believed to be the cause of the blaze.

The incident happened in the early morning hours of Wednesday at a wooden residence in the village of Yarkovo, located in the Yarkovsky district of Tyumen Oblast, about 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) east of Moscow. Eyewitnesses called the fire department`s 101 emergency number at 03:29 a.m. and firefighters arrived at the scene within just two minutes. A spokesperson for Russia`s Investigative Committee said the fire was discovered by the resident - a mother of four - when she came home after drinking all night. "After she returned home and opened the door, she saw puffs of smoke and found the dead bodies of three of her children," the spokesperson said, adding that the body of the fourth child was recovered by rescue workers. The blaze was relatively small and was brought under control by 22 firefighters in about 10 minutes, with the fire being completely extinguished by 04:05 a.m. The dead children were identified by local authorities as a 5-year-old girl, a 3-year-old boy, a 19-month-old girl and a 2-month-old girl. The 28-year-old mother is believed to have been away for nearly 12 hours when she came back to her house, where she lived alone with her four young children. Investigators said the mother had left at 4 p.m. the previous day and locked the children inside the house to be able to go out and drink alcohol with a friend. "The suspect was detained. The woman will be charged and remanded in the near future," the Investigative Committee`s spokesperson said. Russia`s Emergencies Ministry reported that the fire was likely caused by an electrical fault or careless handling of fire, but a criminal investigation is underway to determine the cause.