appeared to head back over the railway, chased by helicopters into the town. Firefighters, who were called by Andreyev two hours after the fire had started, were not prepared to battle the blaze that raged in the gymnasium. One fire truck crew arrived after two hours on their own initiative, but with only of water, and were unable to connect to the nearby hydrants. The first water truck came at 15:28, nearly two and a half hours after the start of the fire; the second fire engine arrived at 15:43. Few ambulances were available to transport the hundreds of injured victims, who were mostly driven to the hospital in private cars. One suspected militant was reportedly lynched on the scene by a mob of civilians. An unarmed militant was captured alive by the OMON troops while trying to hide under a truck (he was later identified as Nur-Pashi Kulayev). Some of the dead insurgents appeared to have been mutilated by the commandos. Sporadic explosions and gunfire continued during the night despite reports that all resistance by militants had been suppressed, until some 12 hours after the first explosions. Early the next day, Putin ordered the borders of North Ossetia closed while some of the terrorists were apparently still being pursued. Aftermath After the conclusion of the crisis, many of the injured died before patients were sent to better-equipped facilities in Vladikavkaz, as the only hospital in Beslan was unprepared to deal with the casualties. There was an inadequate supply of hospital beds, medication and neurosurgery equipment. Relatives were not allowed to visit hospitals where the wounded were treated, and doctors were not allowed to use their mobile phones. The day after the storming, bulldozers gathered the debris of the building, including the body parts of the victims, and removed it to a garbage dump. The first of the many funerals was conducted on 4 September, the day after the final assault, with more following soon after, including a mass burial of 120 people. The local cemetery was too small and had to be expanded to an adjacent plot of land to accommodate the dead. Three days after the siege, 180 people were still missing. Many survivors remained severely traumatised and at least one female former hostage committed suicide after returning home, shortly after identifying the body of her child. In his only visit to Beslan, President Putin appeared during a