At least 32 people have been killed after a fire swept through a student hostel at the People's Friendship University in south-west Moscow. Another 139 were injured with burns, smoke inhalation or from jumping out of windows to escape the flames. Casualties included students from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and a number of African countries. The fire, apparently caused by an electrical fault, gutted the top three floors of the dormitory block. Survivors said it broke out at about 0200 local time on Monday (2300 GMT on Sunday) in two rooms on the second floor and spread rapidly to the rest of the building. Rescuers quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax said some people suffered spinal or head injuries after leaping from the windows, while others had been poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes. "It happened very fast. Some people jumped and were burned, so we tried to get them into ambulances," sociology student Richard Mallobe from Liberia told the Reuters news agency. **Short Circuit *** The BBC's Jonathan Charles in Moscow says many of the students had little chance of escape, with firefighters unable to get to the students' rooms. Initial investigation suggests this fire might have started in a room shared by three Nigerian girls. The number of deaths caused by fire in Russia has increased sharply over the past decade, our correspondent says. He adds that low safety standards and buildings in a bad state of repair are almost always to blame. The university, originally named the Patrice Lumumba People's Friendship University, was built in 1960 during the rule of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. At one time it was a showcase university, where students from poorer nations could receive a subsidised education. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the university was renamed, but its buildings have since fallen into disrepair, says one report. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Many were injured trying to escape the burning building.