(Reuters] – Eight people were killed in Siberia by fires that engulfed hundreds of houses in several villages on Saturday. The high winds and strong gusts made it impossible to extinguish them.

Five people were killed in fires in the Krasnoyarsk area, approximately 3,000km (1,900 mi) east of Moscow. The victims lived in 16 settlements in the Kazachinskoe-Sharypovsky district. A statement from the Russian Investigative Committee stated that the incident led to criminal charges for negligence-caused death.

According to the TASS news media, 17 people were injured and 11 taken to hospital by the local health ministry.

According to the Federal Forestry Agency, 350 homes were set on fire by short circuits at power lines. Strong winds also contributed, TASS stated.

Krasnoyarsk’s emergency service declared on Telegram, “Aircraft can not be used for fighting fires due the high winds load.”

The rescue crews were whipped by wind gusts while tackling blazes that had broken out in rural areas with a lot of wooden structures.

Later, Russia’s Aerial forest Protection Service published video footage showing fires in wooded areas. All of these were later declared to have been quickly extinguished.

Also, the Investigative Committee reported on fires occurring in neighbouring Khakassia.

A little further west, Kemerovo investigators also initiated criminal proceedings. They claimed that the bodies of three persons were found inside a Tyazhinsky residential building, which had more than 50 homes on fire.

Each set of investigators stated that they were continuing their investigation into the causes of the fires.