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Fire at a neurological hospital care home in southwest Russia was devastating for its patients who were sleeping. The fire killed 22 and injured 23 on Saturday.

About 70 patients were inside, along with at least four hospital staff in the village of Alferovka in Voronezh, according to RT. About two dozen patients were admitted to a local hospital with serious burn injuries.

"For the moment, 22 people are dead, two of them died at hospital. Rescuers are searching for another missing person. Four medical workers managed to escape fire. They had helped taking 51 people out of the burning building," The Russian Emergencies Ministry's regional centre told TASS.

"All of them in hospital are said to be in critical condition," Igor Banin of the Voronezh regional hospital said. "Most dead bodies have been found in places where bedridden patients or patients who took strong drugs had undergone treatment," the ministry added.

Anatoliy Sergiyenko, a nurse at the clinic, told Rossiya 24 TV that was forced to leave quickly as he suffered difficulty breathing. "After this door was forced open a bit of fresh air came in and we evacuated some of the people," he said.

While more than 55 patients were evacuated, two seem to be still missing.

Serious investigation into the tragic incident is on, while authorities are considering a malfunction in the electric wiring system as a possible cause.

In recent years, a number of people have died in fire in a number of Russian state institutions, according to BBC.

In September 2013, another fire at a mental health hospital in northwest Russia had left 37 patients dead, while one at a mental health institution near Moscow killed 38 in April that same year.