During a meeting with the Russian president to discuss on fires and the impacts they caused, the senior official explained that the fires are reported in Kurgan, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Irkutsk, Omsk and Novosibirsk regions.

He noted that of 34 victims, one child died and 16 people are hospitalized, including six firefighters.

Chupiryan said that in those regions, the flames destroyed 1,298 buildings, including 730 houses, in 72 towns, and eight gardening companies were affected. He stressed that nearly 2,000 people, including 392 children, were homeless.

Commenting about the issue, the head of State regretted the existence of civilian casualties due to the fires, recognized the importance of the material damages and called to strengthen the preventive work against fires and the protection of forests.

Putin also urged the leadership of federal authorities, especially the Ministry of Emergency Situations, to improve the systems responding to forest fire and attract additional funds, equipment and forces.

jg/iff/mem/mml