A fire in a Siberian mall has killed at least 64 people, the BBC reports. The blaze cut through the Zimnaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping center in the city of Kemerovo, about 1,900 miles east of Moscow, on Sunday (Mar. 25). Several witnesses stated they did not hear any fire alarms during the emergency, or see any sort of organized safety protocol from the mall staff.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, though some initial reports are blaming the inferno's quick spread on the mall's flammable insulation, according to CNN. The fire is one of the most deadly blazes in post-Soviet Russia.
Photos from the day after show the shopping center's collapsed roof, while memorials to the victims, at least eight of them children, are rising on the site, filled with with flowers and toys.
 |
| Smoke rises above a multi-story shopping center in the Siberian city of Kemerovo |
 |
| Pedestrians cross a street near the burning shopping center Zimnaya Vishnya in the West Siberian city of Kemerovo. |
 |
| Fire fighters at the scene of a fire at the Zimnaya Vishnya mall. |
 |
| Onlookers a the site of a fire at the Zimnaya Vishnya shopping center. |
 |
| An aerial view of the multi-story shopping center after a fire |
 |
| An aerial view of the multi-story shopping center after a fire |
 |
| An aerial view of emergency services cleaning the wreckage. |
 |
| Members of the Emergency Situations Ministry work to extinguish a fire |
 |
| A man reacts at the scene of a fire in a shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo |
 |
| Members of the Emergency Situations Ministry work to extinguish a fire |
 |
| Smoke rises over the Zimnaya Vishnya shopping center early |
 |
| A woman speaks on her mobile phone at the scene of the fire |
 |
| People lay flowers for the victims of a fire at a multi-story shopping center in the Siberian city of Kemerovo |
 |
| People react as they walk past the Zimnaya Vishnya shopping center. |
 |
| People grieve near the Zimnaya Vishnya shopping center. |
 |
| People lay flowers and candles for the victims. |
 |
| A woman reacts after laying flowers for the victims. |
 |
| Flowers and candles are laid down near the burnt-out Zimnaya Vishnya shopping center. |
 |
| People lay flowers near the burnt-out Zimnaya Vishnya shopping center. |
 |
| People lay flowers for the victims of Sunday's fire in a multi-story shopping center. |
