Blood tests needed to establish why fire did not awaken patients
MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - Forensic medical experts are expected to establish whether there were substances in the blood of the patients who were killed in a blaze at a psychiatric hospital near Moscow, that could impact their ability to find their way to safety.
Forensic medical experts will conduct tests," the Russian Investigative Committee's press service told Interfax.
"The laboratory tests will help establish the cause of the patients' deaths and whether there were substances in their blood that could have impacted their ability to find their way to safety on their own," the press service said.
Irina Gumennaya, spokeswoman for the Moscow region's top investigative agency, earlier told Interfax that there were no barriers obstructing the patient escape from the building.
She said experts want to find out why the patients had failed to wake up. A nurse questioned by investigators said the audio alarm system had gone off, but due to smoke she did not see if the lighted alarm system switched on, Gumennaya said.