The shopping center "Winter Cherry" in the center of Kemerovo caught fire on the afternoon of March 25. The fire started at about 4 pm local time, and in three hours the firemen managed to only partially locate it. The fire began in one of the cinemas on the last, fourth floor of the shopping center. Then the fire quickly spread to other floors. On-site rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations fear that the building may collapse and touch neighboring structures - people were evacuated from there, too.
At the moment, the bodies of 64 dead were found. 23 of them were identified, among the identified - eight children. Another 13 people remain in hospitals with the consequences of carbon monoxide poisoning (the total number of victims is more than 40).
According to the Minister of Health of Russia Veronika Skvortsova, all the victims who are in hospitals are on the mend. Their condition is stable, there is no threat to life. Assistance was provided also to the relatives of the deceased and injured, 23 people applied for her.