Perm: The death toll rose to 117 Tuesday after a devastating blaze caused by fireworks ripped through a nightclub in the Urals city of Perm, the Russian emergency situations ministry said.
Following a previous toll of 113 dead and around 100 injured, Itar-Tass news agency quoted a ministry official as saying four more people had died in hospitals.
Russia flew flags at half-mast Monday in a nationwide day of mourning for the victims of the blaze, one of the country's worst tragedies of recent years.
The city of Perm, located about 1,200 kilometres (700 miles) east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains, where the fire occurred early Saturday, came to a standstill as residents observed one minute of silence.
Mourners buried the dead in a snow-covered cemetery outside the city and covered their graves with flowers and wreaths.
Twenty-five victims were buried in Perm on Monday, while nine others were buried in other towns, the regional governor Oleg Chirkunov said in a statement.
Major television channels suspended entertainment programming and advertising as memorial services were held across the country.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went to the scene late Monday and announced that more stringent checks would henceforth be made on Russia's concert halls and other leisure venues.
Russian news agencies reported that Putin laid a wreath of red roses in front of the burnt-out ruins of the nightclub. He also met with local officials and Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Choigu to discuss measures to help the wounded.
"These tragic events have reminded us in the cruellest way that the situation with anti-fire security in Russia is far from being good," the Prime Minister declared, adding: "We must admit that the measures are insufficient and ineffective."
Four people have been charged as part of an ongoing investigation into the tragedy and face up to seven years in jail.
"All the accused knew of the forthcoming firework show and about the ban on fireworks at events with large gatherings of people but did not take proper precautions and did not take any action to stop this illegal activity," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.
The executive director of the nightclub, its art director and co-founder have been charged with breach of fire regulations leading to injuries and deaths.
In addition, the director of a firework company has been charged with causing death through negligence.
Flames sparked by indoor fireworks quickly spread through the wooden and straw decor of the Lame Horse nightclub, witnesses said, causing panic as some 300 people stampeded in a rush to flee, choking on smoke.
Around 120 people remained hospitalised on Monday, at least 28 of whom were in critical condition, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, December 08, 2009, 11:46