Putin declares a day of mourning after shopping centre blaze
Russian president Vladimir Putin has declared today a day of national mourning for the victims of a shopping centre fire in Siberia that killed at least 64 people.
Mr Putin flew to the city of Kemerovo yesterday to learn about the investigation into the blaze that trapped parents and children who came to the centre on Sunday, the first weekend of the school holiday.
However, he did not address thousands of angry protesters who rallied on the central square demanding a transparent inquiry.
Several Russian cities, including Moscow, planned to hold rallies yesterday to commemorate the dead.
Russian officials also said yesterday that they had called off the search for victims of the fire.
Emergency situations minister Vladimir Puchkov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies that rescue teams were wrapping up the search. Thousands of angry residents took to the main square earlier, demanding an independent inquiry and accusing authorities of trying to hide the real scope of the disaster.
Mr Putin blamed the deaths on “a criminal negligence, sloppiness”.
Eyewitnesses reported that fire alarms at the shopping centre were silent and many doors locked.
Some of the victims were children who died in a locked cinema.
The residents rallied outside the regional government building in Kemerovo for hours, with many of the protesters taking the stage to accuse the authorities of hiding the real scale of the disaster.
The impromptu protest underscored the residents’ frustration with the official response to the tragedy.
Mr Putin also visited a makeshift memorial to the victims outside the shopping centre.
The footage released by his press office showed the president laying flowers on a deserted plaza with his security detail guarding the perimeter.
“How could this possibly happen? What’s the reason?” Mrputinsaidatameetingwith the taskforce dealing with the fire, according to comments distributed by his press office.
Investigators said emergency exits were blocked and a security guard turned off the public announcement system when he received a call about the blaze.
Alexander Bastrykin, chief of the investigative committee, told Mr Putin during a meeting in Kemerovo that the fire alarm had not been operational for two weeks. He added that the security guard was detained but they still had no “reasonable” explanation for his actions.
Deputy governor Vladimir Chernov, the only senior official who showed up at the rally, dismissed the unconfirmed reports of hundreds of deaths as rumours and said he was ready to resign if people want him to. “Resign, resign!” the crowd chanted.