Minister: Fire in Siberian shopping mall takes lives of 64 people

MOSCOW, Mar 26 (PRIME) – Sixty-four people, including children, died in a fire in a shopping center of Siberian city of Kemerovo, Emergency Minister Vladimir Puchkov told reporters on Monday.

“Sixty four is the final figure,” Puchkov said.

According to the latest data of the ministry, 51 people were injured.

The fire started in the afternoon on March 25, when the upper floor where a cinema and a playing space for children were located caught fire.

Director of a department of the Emergency Ministry Yury Deshevykh said that the alarm systems in the center did not go off and visitors were not evacuated properly.

According to media reports, the beneficiary of the shopping center is an affiliate of KDV Group, one of Russia’s largest producers of snacks. The group is owned by businessman Denis Shtengelov. KDV Group declined to comment.

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