The Kemerovo Tragedy: 64 Dead and 53 Injured and the Smoke Still Hasn’t Cleared
64 dead and 53 injured — that's the tragic aftermath of a horrible fire in one of Kemerovo's malls. The fire started on a Sunday afternoon, which is when the mall gets the most shoppers. Most of them, including children, were on the top floor in the play area.
As you can see from this security camera footage, the fire spread quickly. SES is clearing the debris, and an investigation is trying to figure out why people weren't evacuated properly.
Vladimir Putin gave his condolences to families of the victims of the fire. In the aftermath of the fire, the President ordered additional relief to victims.
Aleksandr Balitsky reports from the site of the tragedy.
There's a new memorial in front of the burnt down mall. People bring flowers and stuffed toys. Many of those that died were children. Kemerovo has never experienced a tragedy like this before. It has brought Russia together; everyone is mourning with Kuzbas.
Here's the first footage from the security cameras. Shoppers are enjoying a Sunday at the mall when suddenly, a panic erupts. Seconds later everything is covered in heavy black smoke. It's pitch black in there, as people try to get out any way they can.
"We're going to suffocate in here, break it down!"
The scale of this tragedy is obvious since it was on a Sunday. Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) is one Kemerovo's most famous spots. Cafes, roller-coasters, a zoo, children's playrooms, and 3 movie theaters. It's possible that the fire started in one of the theaters.
- Where is our daddy?
- Why do we need to go?
- Daniil, let's run to the car!
"They had problems all the time. There was no power for a week once. They were always fixing something; the roof would leak, or the power would go out. They'd close it down sometimes because there would be no power. Supposedly, they fixed the problem. Here's the result".
There were a lot of kids in the theater, as it's the beginning of spring break. According to the witnesses, they didn't even stop the movie.
"It's very odd. When there's a fire, the lights in the theater usually go on. But here, they just started screaming. We were in the movie theater, and they told us to get out".
They say that many doors were blocked. Nobody told the mall's visitors what to do in a situation like this.
- The fire alarm didn't go off, there were no announcements, either.
- Nothing?
- Nothing at all. The fire alarm barely went off on the ground floor; you could just barely hear it on your way out of the building. You couldn't hear it, really."
"They were screaming, 'Fire!' At first, I didn't know what it was, then I saw the smoke, and it came to me. I started... We have two theaters there, and I started yelling for everyone to get out immediately".
Most people were able to get out. Total strangers helped each other out.
"My boyfriend told me how he and his friend tried to get kids out of the theater. They were able to get some kids to go with them, and they were putting their coats on them so they'd keep warm".
People who were cut off by the fire were jumping out of the windows. Ivan and Sasha, along with 10 other people, don't even remember where the blankets and carpets came from. They stretched them out so that the people that were trapped by the fire could jump.
"So, here's the building. We look at it, and we see this woman with her child, they were suffocating, they couldn't take it. This man finds some rug and starts yelling, 'Let's help them!' I ran over there right away. Ten or more people and I were holding the rug. We stretched it out as much as we could".
"They were pushing the car by its bumper so that other cars could get through".
The rescuers fought the fire for 16 hours, but even today, there are areas with extremely high smoke levels and temperatures. Working in such conditions is extremely dangerous. The risk of collapse is high.
Vladimir Puchkov, the RF Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs: "Just in case, we've formed a reserve that may be used in the future. We're monitoring the mall's basic load-bearing structures carefully. We'll be preparing a demolition and disposal plan, and implementing practical measures that will take place immediately after the rescue mission".
As the rescuers sift through the rubble meter by meter, the victims' list goes up. As of right now, the official death toll is 64 people. One of them was Serezha; he was in the theater with his parents and his sister. When the fire started, he jumped. The doctors are still fighting for his life.
Veronika Skvortsova, the RF Minister of Health: "We had one critical patient, an 11-year-old boy. He's in stable condition now. He's scheduled to be examined tomorrow morning".
The tragedy has brought Kuzbas together. There are huge lines at the blood donation center. Olesya was also there, hoping to see the man that led her daughter Polina out of the fire.
Olesya: "A girl from Polina's class had bad smoke inhalation, she was at the ice rink. The girl tried to run in skates, but the niece couldn't run. That man helped her, he carried her out".
The investigative committee is looking into details, focusing on whether fire codes were followed. 4 people have been arrested, including the director of the management company that serviced the entertainment area. Evidence is still being collected.
"There are many rumors that the kids were left in there so they wouldn't run away. They were supposedly locked in there, so they'd watch the movie. I don't know, I didn't see it. I just saw the fire at its incipient stage. What they're saying about a kid with a lighter, I don't think that's true, I think it was a short-circuit fault, because there were sparks in the ceiling where the lights were".
"The 4th floor is the most dangerous area, that's where it all happened. It was the kids' floor. They had arcade games and children's playrooms there. There's a skating rink there and a movie theater, they were showing cartoons there on that day".
"My granddaughter and I would go there sometimes, it always bothered me that there was too much stuff there, and there was only one exit".
For the families of those who are missing, they set up a temporary accommodation facility in the school next to the burnt down mall. As psychologists work with people, priests pray for those who are in the hospital.
Archpriest Vladimir Kritsak, a Father Superior in a Kemerovo church: "One priest put together a list of people, so we're praying for those people, for those who are here, and for those who are working on this".
"This is a small town, we're all friends here, everyone knows everyone. You read the victims list and you realize that you know half of these people".
Kemerovo residents light candles in the victims' memory. Kuzbas is in mourning, and the whole country grieves with them.
Aleksandr Balitsky, Liana Ledova, Oksana Serzhantova, Dmitry Ivanov, and Anton Senchenko. Vesti from Kemerovo.