5 Arrested in Perm Club Blaze, Russia Declares National Mourning

Doctors deliver a heavily wounded victim of the fire in the night club Lame Horse in Perm to the Sklifasovsky hospital in Moscow. At least 112 people died and 130 were injured during the fire that ripped through the club. Photo by BGNES

Russian authorities had made more arrests Saturday in the case of the fire in a night club in the city of Perm, which killed over 100 people.

The detained include the club’s art director, the second owner of the club, and the owner of the company that provided the fireworks deemed the culprit of the tragedy. The bar’s executive director and another owner were arrested earlier Saturday.

The information was reported by the Russian ITAR-TASS.

All five face up to 7 years in jail if proven guilty in violating the fire safety code.

Russian official reports list the number of fatalities at 104 and 129 injured. Investigators, however, say the death toll has reached 112 and over 130 are listed in hospitals. Those who are in the most critical condition have been flown to hospitals in Moscow and Sankt Petersburg.

Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, defined the tragedy as a criminal act and vowed to punish the guilty. December 7 has been declared a national day of mourning.

The explosion happened around 11:15 pm local time, 1 400 km east of Moscow.

200 people were inside the Lame Horse nightclub, including staff, friends and family of the owners, to celebrate the establishment’s eighth anniversary.

Officials have already ruled out terrorism and say that fireworks used at the party were too big for closed premises and were intended for outdoor use. The fatalities were caused mostly by smoke inhalation.

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