Survivors of a nightclub blaze in which at least 109 people were killed in the Russian city of Perm described horrific scenes yesterday as partygoers struggled to escape from the fire.
"Bright nylon dresses were burning on the girls," said a witness, who was in the lavatory when the fire, sparked by an indoor firework show, ripped through the club. He soaked his clothes with water and held his breath to make a dash for the exit but was overcome by fumes before reaching the door.
"There was an awful smell," he said, after being pulled out of the club by rescue workers. "I'll remember it for the rest of my life."
Dozens of charred bodies were piled up early yesterday on the snow-covered pavement outside the Lame Horse club in the centre of Perm, 720 miles east of Moscow.
More than 134 people were also injured in the blaze, said Igor Orlov, a security official in the Siberian city. Many were in a critical condition.
Advertisement
President Dmitry Medvedev, declaring a day of mourning for the victims, claimed the club had been warned repeatedly that its premises were unsafe and said the owners should be severely punished.
"It seems to me that they have neither brains nor conscience," he said. "They are completely indifferent to what happened." The club had twice been fined for failing fire safety rules and the next inspection was due tomorrow.
Video footage showed a crowd happily celebrating the eighth anniversary of the club with an evening of dancing and entertainment. Suddenly a presenter announces: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are on fire. Leave the hall. Line up in a queue [to exit]."
The camera shows fire spreading fast along the ceiling. Revellers move slowly towards the narrow exit, some still sipping cocktails and smoking. As smoke fills the hall, the crowd panics.
Some of the victims were crushed in the stampede to get out of the door but most were said to have succumbed to smoke inhalation.
Advertisement
"The fire took seconds to spread," said Svetlana Kuvshinova, a survivor. The club's walls and ceilings, she said, went up "like a dry haystack". Olga, another survivor, her face smeared with soot and wearing a singed fur coat, spoke of people trying to break down doors to get out: "Panic set in. Everything was [bathed] in smoke. I couldn't see anything."
The fire followed the bombing of a train by Chechen rebels nine days ago when 26 passengers were killed and more than 100 injured. That attack prompted fears of a terror campaign in Russia but officials played down the possibility that the fire in Perm was anything other than a tragic accident.
Officials said a criminal investigation had been opened into suspected breaches of safety regulations at the club and one of the owners had been arrested.
Enforcement of fire safety standards is notoriously lax in Russia and has been blamed for deadly fires at orphanages, hospitals and nursing homes.