At least three people have been killed and more than 30 are feared dead after a fire swept through a psychiatric hospital in Russia.

A spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry said about 60 people, most of them patients, were in the building when the blaze broke out just before dawn.

He said some of the missing may have escaped the hospital in the village of Luka in the Novgorod region and ran into nearby woodland.

The charred remains of the hospital, where at least three people have died

Investigators said the fire may have been caused by a patient setting a bed on fire, according to reports.

It was the second deadly fire at a Russian psychiatric hospital this year.

In April, a fire at a facility outside Moscow killed 38 people and prompted criticism of the state over care of mentally ill patients.

There have been many fires at state institutions such as hospitals, schools, drug treatment centres and homes for the disabled in the past decade, raising questions about safety measures, conditions and escape routes.