The fire in the apartment located on the 17th floor of the "Romanița" block most likely broke out due to a malfunctioning microwave oven. The identity of the two people found dead in the apartment was established. They are the owners of the apartment, a 79-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman, IPN reports.

According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, which presented the preliminary version, following on-site examinations, the Experimental Fire Research Laboratory established that the burning focus was inside the room, where there was a microwave oven.

The flames affected a room of 15 square meters of the apartment of 50 square meters. The fire was localized in a short time, avoiding its spread to neighboring apartments.

Thirteen people from the upper floors were evacuated, two of whom suffered mild carbon monoxide poisoning.

The fire started on Wednesday evening in the apartment building located at 29/2 Nicolae Testemițanu St in Chisinau. In order to extinguish the fire, there were created two firefighting units with nine fire trucks. The General Staff of the Inspectorate was set up to manage the situation.