Protesters demand officials’ ouster over Siberian mall fire

MOSCOW — Fuming with anger, thousands of Russians rallied for more than 10 hours Tuesday in a Siberian city, demanding the ouster of regional officials for a shopping mall fire Sunday that killed at least 64 people.

President Vladimir Putin, visiting the city of Kemerovo, scolded officials for neglecting safety rules that could have prevented the tragedy.

The blaze engulfed the Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo on the first weekend of the school recess, trapping dozens of parents and children inside. Witnesses reported that fire alarms were silent and many doors were locked. Many of the victims were children who died in a locked movie theater after making calls for help.

Mr. Putin arrived early Tuesday, laying flowers at the makeshift memorial to the victims outside the mall and meeting with officials. He did not show up at the protest in front of the regional government’s headquarters but met with some demonstrators at the city’s morgue.

“Hearing about so many children who died fills you with a desire to not simply cry but to wail,” the somber-faced Mr. Putin said. “We lost so many people because of criminal negligence and sloppiness.”

Mr. Putin noted the highly combustible materials used to convert the mall from a Sovietera confectionary factory and the absence of a functioning fire safety system, saying that investigators will track down all those responsible.

Emergency officials reported that 58 bodies have been recovered and that rescue workers were still searching for six more in the city that is 1,900 miles east of Moscow. They said 41 of the victims were children.

One protester at the rally, Igor Vostrikov, addressed deputy governor Sergei Tsivilyov, saying the families of the victims think the death toll is much higher than authorities have stated because the entire movie theater burnt down.

“We’re not calling for blood,” he said. “The children are dead, you can’t give them back. We need justice.”

When Mr. Tsivilyov dismissed the comments as “a PR stunt,” Mr. Vostrikov shouted that he has lost his wife, sister and three daughters, aged 2, 5 and 7, in the fire.

The impromptu protest reflected residents’ deep frustration with the official response to the tragedy. The local governor has not visited the site of the fire or met with the relatives, and Mr. Putin waited a day before traveling to Kemerovo and declaring nationwide mourning.

The Kremlin on Tuesday declared Wednesday a day of mourning.

Alexander Bastrykin, chief of the Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, told Mr. Putin on Tuesday that the fire alarm had not been operational for two weeks and a security guard who failed to activate a parallel warning system couldn’t provide a “reasonable” explanation for his actions. Investigators arrested the mall’s director and four others who were responsible for fire safety.