The death toll from the fire that engulfed a hostel at a Moscow university for foreign students rose to 38, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.
One more victim died on Friday night at the Botkin hospital in Moscow, Interfax quoted doctors there as saying.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Monday in the Moscow People's Friendship University, which was built in 1960 to offer curriculums to students from developing countries.
Preliminary official statement blamed the major causes of the conflagration on electric malfunction or unsafe use of household appliances in a dorm of the five-story building.
Among the 157 students currently remaining in hospitals, five are in critical condition and 22 in aggravated condition, Interfax said.
Dmitry Bilibin, acting rector of the renowned university, has declared his resignation, saying that he felt "responsible" for the tragedy.
Some of the victims have been identified to be nationals of India, China, Mexico, South Korea, Ukraine, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Ecuador and some other Asian and African countries.
Nine Chinese students were confirmed dead in the fatal blaze, four are still missing and 43 have been hospitalized, according to the Chinese Embassy in Moscow.
(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2003)
