Last Updated Mar 26, 2018 2:32 AM EDT
MOSCOW — A fire at a shopping mall in a Siberian city killed at least 53 people, the state news agency Tass reported Monday, citing a spokesperson for the firefighting operation’s headquarters. At least 16 people were missing, Tass said, quoting Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov.
The fire at the four-story Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo was extinguished in the morning after burning through the night. Parts of the building were still smoldering and the floors of the cinema hall had caved in in places, another emergency official said.
“More bodies were discovered during the inspection of the scene,” Deputy Emergencies Minister Vladlen Aksyonov said, according to Tass.
The news agency had earlier reported that 11 of the bodies had been found in the mall’s cinema. The shopping center opened in 2013 and also included a petting zoo, children’s center and bowling.
Firefighters battle blaze at shopping mall in Kemerovo, Russia on March 25, 2018
STRINGER / REUTERS
Tass said the fire started on the top floor but the cause wasn’t immediately known. A criminal investigation was begun.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which deals with major crimes, said it was attempting to bring in the mall’s main owner for questioning and had detained four people, including the owners and leasers of outlets in the mall, the Reuters news agency reported.
The fire is one of the deadliest in Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed, Reuters said.
Appeals were posted on social media by people hoping to learn the fate of relatives or friends and a center was set up in a school near the mall to handle inquiries from people looking for word on missing family members, Reuters added.
The mall is about 1,900 miles east of Moscow.
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