At least eight people died in a fire that ripped through temporary housing for construction workers in Moscow-annexed Crimea, the Russian emergency situations ministry said on Thursday, according to AFP.

The fire broke out overnight in a two-story building for construction workers near Crimea's port city of Sevastopol, the ministry said.

"As a result of the fire, eight people died and two were injured," it said, adding that the fire had been "completely extinguished" by Thursday morning.

Two of the injured were in hospital in a stable condition, according to the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev.

He said the victims were building workers from "different Russian regions," who were involved in the construction of a major highway across the peninsula.

Local investigators said a criminal probe has been launched on charges of "death by negligence."

More than 100 people lived in the temporary accommodation, they added.

Russian news agency TASS cited a law enforcement source as saying the fire could have been caused by an electrical appliance short-circuiting.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, following a referendum that was not recognised by Kyiv or its Western allies.