Investigators looking into a fire that killed at least 64 people at a busy shopping mall in Siberia said on Monday a security guard had turned off the public address system and exits had been illegally blocked. The fire, one of the deadliest in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, swept through the upper floors of the "Winter Cherry" shopping centre in the city of Kemerovo, where a cinema complex and children's play area were located, on Sunday afternoon.
Dozens of children were feared to be among the dead. Vladimir Putin, re-elected last weekend, expressed "deep condolences", the Kremlin said.
But the president has yet to speak publicly about the tragedy, which has stirred anger in Kemerovo, a coal-producing region about 3,600 km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow. Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said it was trying to bring in the mall's owner for questioning and wanted to detain a security guard who turned off the public address system after learning of the blaze.
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