Russia mall fire: 11 children, 42 others die in Siberia's Kemerovo; updates
At least 53 people, including 11 children, were killed by a fire in a shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said on Monday. The fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the end of the Soviet Union, swept through the upper floors of the mall where a cinema complex and children's play arena were located.Russian emergency services said the fire, which started on Sunday afternoon, had now been extinguished but that rescuers were struggling to reach the upper floors because the roof of the building had collapsed. More than a dozen people were still unaccounted for.People 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 from people looking for missing family members. A video footage from inside the mall after the fire broke out showed a group of people in a smoke-filled staircase trying to smash a fire exit door, which was jammed.
Russian state investigators said four people, including the owners and leasers of outlets inside the shopping mall, had been detained over the fire. The Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said it was trying to bring in the mall’s principal owner for questioning. Here are the top 10 updates in the deadly Rissuan shopping mall fire incident so far: 1) Over 660 people are engaged in emergency response activities: Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Vladlen Aksyonov said on Monday morning that "at the moment the firefighting process is ongoing, the interfloor constructions could collapse". 2) 53 people dead: At least 53 people, including 11 children, asre said to have died in the fire incident so far. 3) 41 children among victims: As many as 41 children may be among the victims, Russian officials say. 4) Where did the fire start? The fire is believed to have started at around 17:00 (10:00 GMT) on Sunday in a part of the building that contains the entertainment complex, local media report. As well as a multiplex cinema, the shopping centre, which opened in 2013, includes restaurants, a sauna, a bowling alley and a petting zoo. Yevgeny Dedyukhin, deputy head of the Kemerovo region emergency department, said the area of the fire was about 1,500 sq m. 5) Video footage: A video footage from inside the mall after the fire broke out showed a group of people in a smoke-filled staircase trying to smash a fire exit door, which was jammed. 6) Evacuation: Around 120 people had been evacuated from the burning shopping centre. 7) Minister arrives: Russia's minister of emergency services, Vladimir Putchkov, has gone to Kemerovo, RIA Novosti said. 8) Many missing: According to news agency Tass, nearly 40 children are missing as search and rescue operations continue in the building panning across 1,600 square metres of area. 9) The location: The shopping centre is located in Kemerovo, which is about 3600 km from Russian capital of Moscow. 10) Inferno: The fire raged in the shopping complex for over five hours before the fire department could contain it to begin search and rescue operations.
ARTICLE SOURCE- BUSINESS STANDARD.