ASTANA, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - The number of victims of a fire in a drug rehabilitation center in southern Kazakhstan has risen to 38, a local health ministry adviser said on Tuesday.

The fire started early on Sunday at the clinic in the town of Taldykorgan, the administrative center of Almaty province. The blaze engulfed an area of 400 square meters.

Natalya Buyenko said that the 38th victim died in hospital on Tuesday morning, adding that he had been in a critical condition "with almost 100% burns."

She also said eight patients of the drug rehabilitation clinic remain in Taldykorgan's hospitals, one in a critical condition.

Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov has ordered a special commission to investigate the cause of the fire.