Eight people were killed and eight others were hurt when a major fire broke out at an industrial waste treatment plant in oil-rich western Siberia, the emergencies ministry said yesterday.

“Eight people died, (and) eight people received injuries,” the regional emergencies ministry said in a statement, adding that the survivors were hospitalised.

Seven of the eight injured were taken to intensive care with burns of various severity, regional emergencies ministry spokeswoman Gulnara Yemelyanova told AFP.

The fire broke out early yesterday at the oil-sludge processing plant located between the cities of Tyumen and Khanty-Mansiisk and belonging to the Invest-Oil. company.

Officials said earlier seven people had perished in the blaze. The initial death toll stood at four but rescue teams found more bodies as they combed through the debris of the plant, officials said.

The fire, which consumedan area of some 2,300 square metres, had been extinguishedby 11am, the emergencies ministry said.