Fire kills dozens at Kazakh hospital

A fire at a drug treatment hospital near Almaty, Kazakhstan, killed it least 38 people on Saturday, authorities have said.

Ten more people have been hospitalised, two of them in critical condition.

The blaze started at approximately 05.30 local time (23.30 UTC) in Taldykorgan. The fire spread quickly, consuming almost 650 square metres of land.

“According to tentative data, 38 people were killed, of which 36 were patients and two were medical personel,” the national emergency situation ministry stated. The ministry says that emergency crews managed to rescue up to forty people and medical personnel from the burning building.

Changes in EU airlines blacklist

The European Union (EU) has allowed four Indonesian airlines back into their airspace. A blanket ban had been placed on Indonesian air carriers in 2007. The EU has now added every Zambian airline and all but one from Kazakhstan to their blacklist.

The four airlines allowed to fly into Europe are state-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, privately owned scheduled carrier Mandala Airlines and two private chartered airlines dealing mainly with western clients, Airfast Indeonesia and Premiair.