Russia mall inferno kills 64
MOSCOW: With the fire alarms silent and staff reportedly nowhere to be seen, a fire at a shopping mall packed with children and their parents on the first weekend of the school recess killed 64 people in Russia.
The fire at the Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo, a city about 3,000 km east of Moscow, was extinguished by Monday morning after burning through the night. Firefighters were still recovering bodies as parts of the buildings were still smoldering. Some of the dead were found inside a cinema, which one witness said had been locked shut.
Investigators said emergency exits were blocked and a security guard turned off the public announcement system when he received a call about the blaze.
Sixty-four deaths were confirmed after the firefighters finished combing through the four floors of the mall, emergency situations minister Vladimir Puchkov said. Some 200 animals are also believed to have died in the mall’s petting zoo.
Russia’s top investigative body on Monday said they are searching for a security officer who appears to have turned off the PA system when he received a call about the blaze.
Four people have been detained in connection with the deadly, fire including one of the mall’s tenants. The investigators did not give the cause of the fire but said they have obtained evidence proving “flagrant violations” that could have contributed to the heavy loss of life, including the fact that the fire escapes were blocked.