Moscow: Five people including the owner and the manager of a Russian nightclub where a massive blaze triggered by fireworks killed at least 112 people have been arrested and face seven years of imprisonment.
The funerals for victims of the blaze were being held today in Perm, about 1,200 kilometres east of Moscow in the Urals Mountains.
"The death toll is now 112 people, and 26 people are in critical care," with severe burns, a regional emergency services spokeswoman of Russia's Ural mountain city of Perm said. Authorities have ruled out terrorist strike behind the incident.
The owner and manager of the nightclub have been arrested, along with three others, local media reports said. If found guilty of fire safety violations, they face maximum jail sentence of seven years.
The blast had caused a panic and stamped, wounding 130 people who had assembled for a weekend revelry to celebrate the highly popular nightclub's 10th anniversary, ITAR-TASS reported.
But unofficial figures put the toll at 113. Health Minister Tatyana Golikova said dozens of people were being kept alive on medical ventilators. She said most of the injured have more than 50 percent burns on their bodies.
"Unfortunately, the burns are quite serious... There are 130 people in hospital, of whom 88 are in a serious condition. Of these, 59 have been put on medial ventilators," the minister told President Dmitry Medvedev.
Authorities accused club managers of ignoring repeated orders to comply with safety standards. Medvedev has condemned them as without "brains nor conscience".
Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told the President that the initial probe had ruled out any evidence of a terrorist act.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 06, 2009, 20:03