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Tragedy strikes a Ukrainian gambling hall full of slot machines when
a fire broke out earlier this week. The flames took the lives of 9
patrons, 11more were wounded. According to officials the fire started
in the late evening but the gambling hall was fully engulfed with flames
just before 1 a.m. The gambling hall was located in the city of
Dnipropetrovsk.
There were dozens of patrons occupying the gambling hall that
evening. They had gathered to watch the soccer match up between
Barcelona and Chelsea for the Champinos League semi finals.
At this point there is no evidence of foul play. Media images of the
gaming hall are horrific, with black and gutted slot machines still
lining the floors of the charred gambling venue. Officials believe that
the fire originated from on of the many slot machines in the gaming
hall.
“The main version for the moment is that the fire started in a slot
machine,” said Emergencies Minister Volodymyr Shandra.
“There is no evidence of arson or any sort of explosion from gas.”
Dnipropetrovsk happens to be the home town of the current Ukrainian
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She flew to the city shortly after the
tragedy to chair a cabinet meeting about the fire.
Apparently among the dead were two female employees of the hall. As
the fire grew, the security staff became overwhelmed by the smoke and
flames and that is when rescue workers and firefighters were summoned to
the scene.
It appears that lives could have been saved but the gaming hall
violated fire regulations by placing slot machines too close together
and leaving no room for patrons to escape in the event of an emergency.
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