Russian shopping mall executive arrested over deadly fire

Russian police have arrested an executive with the firm that owns a shopping mall where a fire killed at least 64 people, most of them children.

Russia's Investigative Committee, the state body that investigates major crimes, said in a statement today that Yulia Bogdanova had failed to address shortcomings in fire safety at the shopping mall.

Bogdanova is the general director of a firm called OAO Kemerovo Confectionary Combine, the owner of the "Winter Cherry" mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo where the fire broke out last Sunday.

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At the time, the top floor of the complex, where the fire started, was packed with families visiting a cinema and a children's play area.

Investigators said fire exits were blocked and the fire alarm system failed to function.

"The investigation established that Bogdanova, as the person responsible for fire safety, was repeatedly informed by subordinates about shortcomings in the building's fire safety system," the statement said.

Fire fighters struggled to reach the worst-hit areas, including two of the three cinemas which collapsed through the floor during the blaze.

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On Monday morning, Kemerovo residents were bringing flowers, candles and stuffed animals to a plaza outside the mall, and local hospitals reported an influx of people wanting to donate blood for the victims.

The investigators have not confirmed the cause of the fire, but said they have obtained evidence of “flagrant violations” that could have contributed to the heavy loss of life, including blocked fire escapes.

Eyewitnesses said that some guards and staff helped people to get out, but there was no coordinated effort to evacuate the shopping mall.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday it was too early to draw conclusions about whether local officials failed in Kemerovo.