Children amongst hundreds feared dead in Russia mall fire

World

Published: 2018-03-26 10:48

Last Updated: 2024-03-24 12:20


Dozens of people remain unaccounted for. (NPR)
 Dozens of people remain unaccounted for. (NPR)

More than 56 people, including 41 children, were killed by a fire that broke out in a shopping mall in the city of Kemerovo, Russia, on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry.

The fire, which reached the upper floors of the building, swept through the cinema and children’s play area, where many shoppers were seen jumping off of the building to escape the fire.

The cause of the fire remain unclear, however, the region's Deputy Governor, Vladimir Chernov, said that it started at the children’s area, specifically in the trampoline room, where the rubbery trampoline caught fire from one child’s lighter.

Firefighters and rescuers struggled to reach the upper floors as the roof had already collapsed due to the fire.

Russian authorities set up a centre where relatives and friends of missing people could gather.

Reuters described the fire as the deadliest of its kind in more than twenty years.