Wildfires sweep through Russia, killing eight

Wildfires swept through dozens of villages in southern Russia, killing at least eight people and reducing more than 500 homes to smouldering ruins, officials said yesterday.

The blazes in two provinces on the Volga followed wildfires that killed at least 54 in central Russia in July and August during the worst heat wave recorded there, prompting criticism of the official response.

Fires, fed by high winds and months of drought, destroyed more than 500 buildings in at least 26 villages in Volgograd and Saratov provinces, injuring at least 17 people, emergencies ministry spokeswoman Yelena Chernova said. Television pictures showed smoke rising from the blackened ruins of a village of wooden houses in the Volgograd region.

More than 2,500 people and at least five planes were involved in fighting the fires. TV bulletins showed uniformed men running with buckets of water and shovelling dirt on to fires.

"We are working on localising the fires, the situation is under control," Ms Chernova added. Most of the fires were started accidentally, with some linked to short circuits in electricity cables, she said.

.In a televised meeting with emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu, prime minister Vladimir Putin promised 1 billion roubles (22 million) to each of the stricken regions to provide emergency housing.