Fire at shopping mall packed with families leaves at least 64 dead

A fire at a shopping mall in eastern Russia packed with families on the first weekend of the school holidays has killed at least 64 people.

Fire alarms had not sounded, and staff were reportedly nowhere to be seen as the blaze took hold at the Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo, a city in Siberia, about 1,900 miles east of Moscow, according to witnesses.

The fire was extinguished by yesterday morning after burning through the night. However, firefighters are still recovering bodies as parts of the buildings are still smouldering. Some of the dead were found inside a cinema.

Investigators said emergency exits were blocked and a security guard turned off the public announcement system when he received a call about the blaze. Yesterday morning, Kemerovo residents brought flowers, candles and stuffed animals to a plaza outside the mall, and local hospitals reported an influx of people wanting to donate blood for the victims.

Sixty-four deaths were confirmed after the firefighters finished combing through the four floors of the mall, emergency situations minister Vladimir Puchkov told a televised briefing. Six of the bodies have not yet been recovered.

Mr Puchkov would not confirm how many of the victims were children.

Ten people were taken to hospital. Health minister Veronika Skvortsova, who visited the Keremovo hospital where the victims were receiving treatment, said one patient is an 11-year-old boy who jumped out of a window from the fourth floor to escape the blaze. His parents and younger brother died in the fire.

The Investigative Committee said it has detained four people for questioning, including one of the mall’s tenants. There is no confirmation yet of how the fire started, though it is known to have begun on the top floor. Investigators have launched an inquiry into possible negligence and violations of the fire safety rules.

Witness accounts indicate that the fire alarm did not go off and that staff did not arrange for the evacuation of the shopping mall, which was converted from a former confectionery factory in 2013.

Winter Cherry was one of Kemerovo’s most popular entertainment centres for children, with an indoor skating rink, petting zoo and trampoline area. Residents said the mall was packed with children and their parents.

Anna Zarechneva, who was on the top floor where the fire started, watching a film with her husband and son, said they only found out about the fire when a man ran into the theatre shouting.

She said her husband stayed upstairs trying to help arrange the evacuation, because the mall’s security and staff were nowhere to be seen.