The death toll in the fire, which took place on Thursday at the military research institute in Russia’s northwestern city of Tver, has risen to 17, an Interfax agency said, citing an informed source.
Another eight people are believed to be missing, the source said.
The fire destroyed the four-story building of the Central Research Institute of the Russian Air and Space Forces. Five dead were reported on Thursday.
Some employees of the institute had to jump through the windows of the upper floors to escape the flames, eyewitnesses told the media.
Several victims were hospitalized, three of them in the intensive care unit.
It was reported that the fire broke out in a cabinet due to damaged power cords.
The Institute develops navigation and control equipment for spacecraft, military aircraft and missiles
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