( CNN ) -- Up to 37 people died Friday after a fire tor through a psychiatric institution in Russia , a regional branch of the country 's Investigative Committee said , according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency . A representative of Russia 's Emergencies Ministry gave a different toll , telling the news agency that 15 bodies had been recovered and 22 people were still missing after the fire outside the central Russian city of Veliky Novgorod . A criminal case has been opened to look into the cause of the fire , according to a statement on the Investigative Committee 's website . A total of 59 people were inside the building when the fire broke out , the Health Ministry said , according to RIA Novosti . The Emergencies Ministry said 23 people have been rescued , according to the news agency . Police are searching the area for residents who may have fled the site , it said . The fire broke out shortly before 3 a.m. Moscow time in the men 's ward of the Oksochi mental health care clinic , state-run Itar-Tass reported . The facility is a low-level wooden building . The fire has been extinguished , the news agency said , and dozens of emergency personnel are working at the scene . In April , a fire at another psychiatric hospital near the capital , Moscow , left 38 people dead . President Vladimir Putin called for an investigation and a closer focus on fire safety in hospitals after that blaze . CNN 's Susannah Palk contributed to this report .
NEW : As many as 40 people are dead in the fire , state media cite local investigators as saying . The fire broke out at the psychiatric institution in the early morning , reports say . The Emergencies Ministry says 23 people have been killed , state media say . A fire at a psychiatric clinic in Moscow killed 38 people , sparking calls for better fire safety .