Siberian school fire kills 23

Twenty-two students and their teacher were burned to death yesterday in their old wooden school building in the Siberian republic of Yakutia.

Twelve more students - aged between 11 and 18 - suffered fractures jumping from first-floor windows or minor burns.

President Vladimir Putin described the fire a "major calamity" and ordered immediate assistance to the remote village of Sydyi Bal.

Yakutia has held the record as the coldest place on earth since it recorded a temperature of -72C (-97F) in 1926.

The fire broke out as the school day began. A spokeswoman for the ministry for emergency situations said that by the time firefighters reached the school, the 80-year-old building was already engulfed in flames.

An inquiry has started into the blaze, which initial reports blamed on electrical wiring.