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Putin blames criminal negligence for death toll in Kemerovo fire Putin blames criminal negligence for death toll in Kemerovo fire
(about 4 hours later)
Vladimir Putin has blamed “criminal negligence” for Russia’s deadliest fire in nearly a decade, during a visit to the scene of the blaze in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on Tuesday. Vladimir Putin has blamed criminal negligence for Russia’s deadliest fire in nearly a decade, as he sought to manage his first crisis since he was re-elected by a landslide earlier this month.
At least 64 people were killed in a fire that engulfed the top floor of the Winter Cherry shopping centre on Sunday, sweeping through a children’s play area and two cinemas. Some victims leaped from windows to escape the flames and smoke. At least 64 people died in the fire that engulfed the top floor of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on Sunday. Some victims leaped from windows to escape the flames and smoke.
The Interfax news service reported that 41 of the 64 dead were children, according to lists of the dead displayed at a rescue centre in Kemerovo. Official lists of the dead released by Kemerovo authorities showed that at least 40 of the 64 were children – the fire had swept through a children’s play area and two cinemas.
Thousands of residents met in a central square dominated by a statue of Lenin in Kemerovo on Tuesday in a rare public demonstration in the capital of a coalmining region in western Siberia. Some called for Putin to come to the square, or for the resignation of the local government. Riot police were deployed around the local administration building. The Russian president arrived on Tuesday to find anger at officials’ handling of the tragedy. Tempers flared over reports that fire alarms at the shopping centre did not work and that emergency exit doors had been locked. A member of Russia’s parliament suggested corruption was to blame. Under public pressure, Putin declared Wednesday a day of national mourning.
In one confrontation, Sergey Tsivilyev, a vice-governor for the region, accused a protester of “making PR of the tragedy”. The man, Igor Vostrikov, responded that he had lost three young children, his wife and his sister in the blaze. Thousands of residents congregated in a central square in Kemerovo on Tuesday in a rare public demonstration in the capital of a coal-mining region in western Siberia. Some called for Putin to come to the square, or for the resignation of the local government. Riot police were deployed around the local administration building.
Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Kemerovo region since 1997, claimed that there were only 200 people at the demonstration and none were family members of the deceased. In one confrontation, Sergey Tsivilyev, a vice-governor for the region, accused a protester of “making PR of the tragedy”. The man, Igor Vostrikov, responded by saying he had lost three young children, his wife and his sister in the blaze.
He apologised to Putin at a high-level meeting for the tragedy and said his main task was not to allow unrest. The protests went on for more than 10 hours. Vigils were planned in other cities, with the government seeking to take the lead. After activists in Moscow said they planned to meet at 7 pm on Tuesday, the mayor’s office announced an official vigil at 5pm that one activist called a “spoiler event”.
“My task is not to allow what is happening,” said Tuleyev in remarks that were stricken from the Kremlin’s published transcript of the meeting. “Speculating with lies based on other people’s grief to achieve who knows what aims. Actually we all know what they want.” Putin announced a national day of mourning for the victims of the fire to take place on Wednesday. Similar tragedies and natural disasters in Russia have grown into political crises. The Kursk submarine disaster, in which 118 sailors died in 2000, has dogged Putin for years after his terse response in to the question of what happened: “It sank,” he told Larry King Live at the time.
Rumours have swirled among relatives of the dead that the number of victims is far higher than given in official reports. There have also been news reports that law enforcement officers seized photo and video equipment from those who recorded footage of the fire. In 2010, Putin publicly chastised the head of a mine in the Kemerovo region after an explosion caused the death of 66 people. The mining boss soon resigned, although local officials went largely unpunished.
On Monday, the Investigative Committee, the main federal investigating authority in Russia, appeared to confirm reports that relatives of the victims were being asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. It is still unclear what, if any, the repercussions will come of the fire at a privately owned shopping centre hundreds of miles from the Russian capital.
On Tuesday, Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Kemerovo region since 1997, claimed there were only 200 people at the demonstration in Kemerovo city and that none were relatives of the deceased.
In a high-level meeting, Tuleyev apologised to Putin for the tragedy and then said his main task was not to allow opposition unrest as a result of the fire.
“My task is not to allow what is happening,” the governor said in remarks that were stricken from the Kremlin’s published transcript of the meeting. “Speculating with lies based on other people’s grief to achieve who knows what aims. Actually we all know what they want.” There was deep scepticism toward official information in the city on Tuesday, with rumours that the number of dead was far higher than officially reported. There have also been media reports that law enforcement officers seized video and photographic equipment from those who recorded footage of the fire.
On Monday, Russia’s main federal investigating authority, the Investigative Committee, appeared to confirm reports that relatives of the dead were being asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.
“The signing of these kinds of documents is provided for in criminal legislation and dictated above all in the interests of the victims,” the committee wrote on Telegram, a popular messenger app.“The signing of these kinds of documents is provided for in criminal legislation and dictated above all in the interests of the victims,” the committee wrote on Telegram, a popular messenger app.
Putin, who was re-elected to a fourth term last week, visited the scene of the fire on Tuesday and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial to the victims. He met law enforcement officials and members of the regional government, as well as local members of a citizens’ action group. Putin visited the scene of the fire on Tuesday and laid flowers at a makeshift memorial to the dead. As well as meeting members of the regional government, he met law enforcement officials and local members of a citizens’ action group.
“What’s happening here? This isn’t war, it’s not a spontaneous methane outburst. People came to relax, children. We’re talking about demography and losing so many people,” Putin said in a meeting with ministers in Kemerovo. “What’s happening here? This isn’t war, it’s not a spontaneous methane outburst. People came to relax, children. We’re talking about demography and losing so many people. Why? Because of some criminal negligence, because of slovenliness. How could this ever happen?” he said during a meeting of ministers in Kemerovo.
“Why? Because of some criminal negligence, because of slovenliness. How could this ever happen?” he asked. The head of the Investigative Committee said the fire alarm system in the shopping 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.
The head of Russia’s investigative committee said the fire alarm system in the mall 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.
The committee said earlier it was trying to bring in the mall’s owner for questioning.
“Serious violations [of the law] took place when the mall was being built and when it was functioning. The fire exits were blocked,” Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the committee, said on Monday.
News reports on state-run television said on Monday that young children had called relatives from the burning shopping centre. “Tell my mother that I loved her,” one young girl told her aunt, according to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. ”Tell everyone that I loved them.”News reports on state-run television said on Monday that young children had called relatives from the burning shopping centre. “Tell my mother that I loved her,” one young girl told her aunt, according to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. ”Tell everyone that I loved them.”
“We are burning,” another young woman wrote on the social network VK. “This may be goodbye.”“We are burning,” another young woman wrote on the social network VK. “This may be goodbye.”
The fire was the deadliest since a club in the Siberian city of Perm burned down in 2009, killing 156. The fire was the deadliest since 158 people died from a blaze at a club in the Siberian city of Perm in 2009.
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