Latest: 'No alarms sounded' in Russian shopping mall fire horror
A fire at a shopping mall packed with children and their parents on the first weekend of the school holidays has killed 64 people in eastern Russia.
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 Monday morning after burning through the night. Firefighters are still recovering bodies as parts of the buildings are still smouldering. Some of the dead were found inside a cinema.
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 have been taken to hospital. Health minister Veronika Skvortsova, who visited the Keremovo hospital where the victims were receiving treatment, said that one patient is an 11-year-old boy who jumped out of a window from the fourth floor. The boy's 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 word yet on how the fire started, though it is known to have begun on the top floor on Sunday evening.
Investigators have launched a probe into possible negligence and violations of the fire safety rules.
Witness testimony indicates 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 its own indoor skating rink, petting zoo and trampolines. Kemerovo 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 movie with her husband and son, said they only found out about the fire when a man ran into the theatre shouting.
"We didn't hear the fire alarm, they even didn't turn on the light during the show," she said.
"That movie could have been the last for us, I've only just realised that."
Ms Zarechneva said her husband stayed upstairs trying to help arrange the evacuation, because the mall's security and staff were nowhere to be seen.
Earlier: Final death toll in Russian shopping centre fire reaches 64
Sixty-four people are confirmed to have died in a fire at a shopping centre in Siberia.
Russia's emergency situations minister Vladimir Puchkov told a televised briefing on Monday that firefighters had finished combing through the four floors of the shopping centre in the city of Kemerovo.
Six bodies have not yet been recovered, he said.
Puchkov would not say how many of the victims were children.
The Winter Cherry centre was a popular destination for families and it was packed with visitors on Sunday, the first weekend of the school holiday, when the fire broke out.
The fire was extinguished on Monday morning after burning through the night.
Parts of the building were still smouldering and the floors of the cinema hall had caved in in places, officials said.
State news agency Tass had earlier reported that 11 of the bodies had been found in the centre's cinema.
The shopping centre opened in 2013 and also included a petting zoo, children's centre and bowling.
Tass said the fire started on the top floor but the cause was not yet known. A criminal investigation has begun.
The shopping centre is about 1,900 miles east of Moscow.
Earlier: Dozens killed in fire at Russian shopping centre
A fire at a shopping centre in the Siberian city of Kemerovo has killed at least 48 people, Russian officials said today.
At least 16 people were still missing, state news agency Tass reported, quoting Russian emergencies minister Vladimir Puchkov.
The fire at the four-storey Winter Cherry centre was extinguished in the morning after burning through the night.
Parts of the building were still smouldering and the floors of the cinema hall had caved in in places, another emergency official said.
"More bodies were discovered during the inspection of the scene and we confirm the death toll is at 48," deputy emergencies minister Vladlen Aksyonov said, according to Tass.
The news agency had earlier reported that 11 of the bodies had been found in the centre's cinema.
The shopping centre opened in 2013 and also included a petting zoo, children's centre and bowling.
Tass said the fire started on the top floor but the cause was not yet known.
A criminal investigation has begun.
