At least seven people died and 13 were injured on April 28, 2026, when fire tore through an unfinished residential building in Moscow’s Aeroport district. The blaze started early on a Tuesday morning in temporary living modules for construction workers, at a high-rise site on 2nd Ambulatorny Proyezd in the north of the city.
Flames spread across the second and third floors, covering roughly 1,400 square meters. Up to 200 workers may have been on site. Thick smoke filled the structure, and firefighters brought in lifting equipment to reach the upper levels. More than 30 people were pulled out; one report put the number of rescued at 31.
Over 200 emergency personnel and 65 vehicles worked the fire for nearly five hours. It was fully out by around 2 p.m.
Cause and investigation
Early findings point to “an electrical short circuit in a switchboard within the third-floor worker accommodations”, according to Build Australia. Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over possible violations of construction safety rules and negligence. Prosecutors are looking at fire-protection breaches and at whether the living quarters were adequate.
The site belongs to the Alcon DC Nord technopark project run by the Alcon Group. The development stands on former industrial land and was due to be finished as a data center by summer 2026.
A rising toll on Moscow sites
Labor union data cited in the same report shows construction deaths in Moscow climbing steadily: 23 in 2021, then 62 fatalities and 98 serious injuries in 2025. Another 23 deaths had been recorded since the start of 2026, before this fire.
Sources
- Blaze at Moscow Construction Site Kills at Least Seven, Injures 13 (Global Banking & Finance Review)
- Moscow building fire kills seven construction workers (Build Australia, via KELO report)
- Moscow: A building under construction was engulfed in flames, 7 dead and 13 injured (Athens News)
