Fire In Russian Shopping Center Kills Five

A fire broke out in the “Winter Cherry” shopping center in Kemerovo on Sunday afternoon local time, killing five people, including one child, and sending over 30 more to the hospital. The source is yet to be determined, although reports on social media say the blaze started on the fourth floor of the building where a cinema and children’s entertainment center are located, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Fifteen teams were dispatched to contain the fire before it spread outside the shopping center. Currently, the blaze has been partially brought under control after covering a total area of 1,500 square meters. Sergei Yakovlev, head of Kemerovo’s fire department, told Sputnik News that the fire was difficult to extinguish because it spread through flammable thermal insulation. Firemen rescued 20 people and evacuated hundreds of others as footage posted online showed people jumping from windows to escape the burning building. Vladimir Puchkov, the Minister of Emergency Situations, declared a state of emergency in the region.

Initial reports said all fatalities were children. However, Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, provided an update where she announced the deaths of three children and one woman who were all located in the playroom when the fire erupted. Additionally, 26 people required either on-site medical assistance or had to be taken to the hospital.

Ms. Petrenko added that the ceiling collapsed in two halls which form part of the cinema. There is concern from local authorities that more people could be trapped inside the entertainment complex. According to Sputnik News, 17 people are still missing and Kemerovo citizens are trying to locate them using social networks.

A subsequent statement from the Investigative Committee updated the death toll yet again – five people dead, including three women, a man, and a child. The number of injuries which required hospitalization was increased to 30. In addition to the human fatalities, the entertainment center also contained a petting zoo with over 200 animals. Facility director Evgeniy Videman fears they are all dead, per RT.

“I think they died of suffocation, because I was the last to leave and there were no other people left in the zoo. There was thick smoke on the third floor, people were leaving in panic by a side ladder. There was no chance to get the animals out.”

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— Dasha (@DashaOy) March 25, 2018

The Investigative Committee announced that it was launching a criminal case following the incident and was currently interviewing the tenants and owner and checking documents.

Update

The death toll has reached 53, including at least nine children. The roof has collapsed in two cinemas and more people are feared buried under the rubble. According to Andrei Mamchenkov, deputy head of Russia’s National Crisis Management Center, 41 children are still unaccounted for, reports BBC.