64 die in Siberian mall fire

Moscow, March 27

At least 64 persons were killed by a fire which engulfed a busy shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, Russian investigators said on Monday, and some of the dead were children.
The fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through the upper floors of the “Winter Cherry” shopping centre where a cinema complex and children’s play area were located.
Emergency services said they had extinguished the blaze, but later said it had reignited, and that rescuers were struggling to reach the building’s upper floors because the roof had collapsed. TV footage on Monday showed thick black smoke rising from the yellow building.
It was unclear if any people were still unaccounted for, but 11 persons were being treated in hospital, including an 11-year-old boy who was in a serious condition.
Earlier on Monday, people had posted appeals on social media seeking news of their relatives or friends, and authorities set up a centre in a school near the mall to deal with inquiries.
Anna Kuznetsova, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, said the fire had been caused by incompetence and warned there were many similar shopping centres. “Other regions, the bosses of other malls must right now, without waiting for (routine) checks, ask themselves: Have we done everything we can to ensure something like this doesn’t happen here,” Kuznetsova said.
State investigators, who have opened a criminal investigation into the blaze, said four persons had been detained over the fire, including the owners and lessees of outlets inside the mall. Russia’s Investigative Committee said it was trying to bring in the mall’s owner for questioning.
The Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying the main theory being looked at was that the fire had been caused by an electrical short circuit.