A fire at a building in central Moscow has killed at least eight people, including two children, authorities say.
Officials said that the blaze, which was put out early on February 4, ignited at a building on Nikitsky Boulevard.
The Investigative Committee's Main Moscow Department has opened an investigation, Russian news agencies reported.
Reports said that according to preliminary data, the cause could be a malfunction of electrical equipment.
More than 100 residential apartments were said to be in the building.
The state-run TASS news agency reported that a typical four-room apartment in the building costs more than $1.4 million and that several entertainment professionals are residents there.
The agency quoted an emergency services source as saying that wooden floors in the building helped the fire spread out over an area of 2,000 square meters.
Officials said 42 people have been rescued from the blaze, which started on the fifth floor of the building that was built in 1912 and has the status of "a cultural heritage site."
