A construction worker who is carrying out a hunger strike in Russia's Siberian region of Khakassia has been hospitalized and is listed in serious condition.
Natalia Dobrovolskaya, a woman who also is part of a group that is carrying out the protest fast in attempt to receive unpaid wages, said on April 19 that fellow protester Maksim Lekantsev was rushed to hospital early in the morning after his nose started bleeding.
Dobrovolskaya said five other hunger strikers will continue their protest over their overdue salaries are paid in full.
The workers started their protest on April 6 -- demanding that local authorities and a construction firm pay some 2 million rubles ($35,500) in delayed salaries that are owed to more than 60 construction workers.
The workers have been involved in a state-supported program to rebuild hundreds of buildings in Khakassia that had been damaged by a massive fire in April 2015.
The fire killed 32 people and destroyed 1,215 houses in 32 villages and towns across the Khakassia region.
Some 4,700 people lost their homes in the fire.
