Three Chinese students were confirmed dead yesterday following Monday morning's fire at a Moscow university, according to the Chinese Embassy in Moscow.

　　Chinese Ambassador to Russia Liu Guchang said that 46 Chinese students were injured in the fire that killed 36 foreign students and wounded some 200 others at Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in southwest Moscow.

　　The embassy confirmed earlier yesterday that 12 Chinese students are still missing.

　　Three of the injured Chinese students have left the hospitalsswheres36 others are still receiving treatment. The Chinese embassy doesn't know which hospitals the other seven students are being treated at.

　　Some of the hospitalized Chinese students are in relatively serious conditions but none of their injuries are life threatening, the ambassador said.

　　Most are being treated for smoke inhalation or limb injuries received while trying to escape from the five-story building.The embassy will continue to work with Russian authorities to identify the bodies of Chinese students killed in the blaze, the ambassador said.

　　Investigators in Moscow believe the fire was started by the careless use of electric appliances or a malfunctioning electric heater, but they still have not ruled out arson as a possible cause.

　　As students from Africa and Southeast Asia lived in the dormitory, investigators said they are also lookingsintosracist groups that may have started the fire.

　　Three female students from China, Nigeria and Vietnam lived in the roomswheresthe fire first broke out and the Nigerian woman - the only one in the dorm when the fire erupted - is under investigation.

　　Russian police said earlier that more than 500 foreign students were on the official list of dormitory residents. Most of the victims were from Asian and African countries, including China, Vietnam, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Angola.Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said yesterday that Moscow is taking additional steps to guarantee security in placesswheresRussian and foreign students live, under orders from President Vladimir Putin.