33 killed in Mongolia house fires so far this year

ULAN BATOR, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-three people have been killed in a total of 772 house fires in Mongolia since the beginning of this year, the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported on Friday.

In addition, the fires caused a direct economic loss of 4.2 billion Mongolian tugriks (1.5 million U.S. dollars), the NEMA said in a statement.

Broken stoves and chimneys, electrical short circuits, people's carelessness, such as leaving children home alone, were the main reasons for house fires, the agency said.