Seven dead in the horror blaze at a makeshift barracks in Crimea

The horror fire broke out shortly after 2am on the outskirts of the city of Sevastopol - the HQ of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet.

Seven workers died and two others were rushed to hospital, while another five have been reported missing.

It comes amid a wave of suspected "sabotage" blasts - including a huge explosion on Crimea's Kerch Bridge linking Vlad's mainland and the peninsula.

At the time of the fire on Thursday morning, 185 people were inside the dormitory, the RIA news agency reported.

Footage showed the raging inferno ripping through the two-storey barracks housing construction workers building a bridge commissioned by Putin.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed governor, said the Tavrida highway will link the Crimean cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol.

Russia's Investigative Committee - which probes major crimes - said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

Law enforcement agencies claimed the cause was an electrical appliance short-circuiting.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 - while Kyiv says it plans to retake it by force.