President Vladimir Putin has blamed a fire at a shopping centre in Siberia that killed at least 64 people on criminal negligence and “sloppiness”, vowing to harshly punish those responsible.
The Russian president on Tuesday flew to the scene of the blaze in the city of Kemerovo and laid red roses at a memorial for the victims, 41 of whom were children, according to the Interfax news agency.
He then chaired an emergency meeting and declared a national day of mourning be held on Wednesday, as thousands of Russians rallied in the city’s main square to condemn authorities over the deaths. Mr Putin did not address the rally.
The deadly blaze on Sunday, at the beginning of the school holidays, has stirred anger and focused attention on corruption and lax fire safety standards in Russia.
Investigators said fire exits had been blocked, alarms were broken and the public address system was not switched on by an employee after the outbreak of the blaze. A number of victims were children who died in a locked cinema inside the complex.
Mr Putin said: “What’s happening here? This isn’t war, it’s not an unexpected methane explosion at a coal mine. People came to relax, children. We’re talking about demography and losing so many people.
“Why? Because of some criminal negligence, because of sloppiness. How could this ever happen? The first emotion when hearing about the number of dead and dead children is not to cry but to wail. And when you listen to what has been said here, speaking honestly, other emotions arise.”
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters gathered in central Kemerovo, an industrial city about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) east of Moscow. Mayor Ilya Seredyuka addressed the crowd, but his words were drowned out by chants calling for his resignation.
Many locals do not believe the official death toll of 64. They suspect hundreds of people were killed and that a cover-up is underway, which Mr Putin has flatly denied. Relatives of the victims say they have compiled a list of 85 people, most of them children, who are still missing.
“Why don’t they tell us the truth?” shouted one protester, as others held placards aloft calling for Mr Putin’s arrest and asked: “How many victims are there really?”
One senior regional official, Sergei Tsivilev, got down on his knees to apologise to the crowd.
Natalia and Sergei Agarkov, whose two children were killed in the tragedy along with their grandmother, stood on the square holding photographs of their dead loved ones.
“Masha was 10, Kostya was eight,” Mr Agarkov said. “Masha ... was really good at sport. She should have ran out, but everything was locked. I identified them yesterday. I didn’t see Kostya, but recognised him by his little boots.”
Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, told Mr Putin the fire alarm system in the centre had been out of order since 19 March and a security guard had not turned on the public address system to warn people to evacuate the building. He said five people had already been detained.
“Most of the staff ran away and left children and parents and their children to their fate,” Mr Bastrykin said.
“Those workers, who should have been responsible for people’s safety, for organising an evacuation, they were the first to run away.”
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
