Moscow:
Raging forest fires which engulfed parts of Central Russia during the country's hottest summer on record have killed at least 29 and destroyed hundreds of homes, forcing President Dmitry Medvedev to summon the Army to join the rescue effort.
At least 25 people were killed in Central Russia and the Volga River region while four dead bodies found under the debris in the village Svezhenkoye in the Ryazan Region, an emergency ministry spokeswoman told the Russian news agency, bringing the toll to 29.
President Medvedev ordered the Army to move into the affected parts of Central Russia with its heavy equipment, to assist over 240,000 rescuers battling the forest fires. The blaze tore through villages, forcing mass evacuations.
Russian channels showed a telephonic conversation between Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, with the latter urging the Supreme Commander from the worst-hit Nizhny Novgorod, to issue orders to the military to join the fire-fighting operations.
There are reports that after their telephonic conversation, Medvedev issued orders to the military. Prime Minister Putin, who rushed to Nizhny Novgorod to assess the situation, visited the worst-hit village of Vyksa, where all the 340 homes were gutted.
Talking to agitated residents, he promised to rebuild the new village from scratch before the winter sets in and announced 200,000 roubles (a little over Rs 3 lakh) compensation per head.
He also ordered the local municipal heads to submit their resignations for their failure to take preventive measures in the abnormal heat and the worst drought being faced by the country since 1972.
He also ordered his government to allocate 5 billion rubles (US $165 million) to help victims.
Due to strong winds, the wildfires have stepped into the city limits of Voronezh, major agro-industrial centre 450 km from Moscow.
By Saturday morning, more than 270 houses were destroyed in Voronezh and over 550 in the Nizhny Novgorod region, RIA Novosti reported quoting Emergency Situations Ministry.
The Emergencies Ministry has dispatched additional firefighting units and 16 aircraft and helicopters to fight wildfires in five regions of Central Russia.
Temperatures across much of western and central Russia have topped 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) for the past five weeks, causing forest fires.