YEREVAN, MARCH 27, ARMENPRESS. The deadly inferno in a shopping mall in Kemerovo, Russia, continues to be under global attention.

Russian media say the death toll according to latest information is 64.

14 have been hospitalized, including three children, and 53 are being treated under outpatient care. Some sources reported that 16 people were missing.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin, visiting the scene, called the tragedy a “criminal negligence”.

"What is happening here - this was not a combat situation, not an unexpected methane outburst in a mine. People came to rest, children. We talk about demographics and lose so many people because of what? Because of criminal negligence and carelessness," Putin said.

He also offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, starting the meeting with a moment of silence.

Putin instructed Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin to give a legal assessment of the actions of officials in office at the time of the fire in the shopping mall.

"It is necessary to give a legal assessment of the actions of every official. You cannot get any certificates without money, but with money everything can be signed," Putin said as reported by TASS.

Bastrykin, in turn, said that the Investigative Committee seized a large number of documents that are currently being studied as part of the criminal case investigation. The building of the confectionery factory, built in 1968, was remodeled in 2013 into a shopping center, probably with irregularities, he noted.

Kemerovo residents began a large scale protest outside the city administration in the morning of March 27, demanding the resignation of the local authorities. The protesters insists that the official figures on the deaths and injured is false.

The fire alarm in the Zimnyaya Vishnya (or Winter Cherry) shopping mall remained out of service since March 19, Russian Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said at a meeting on dealing with the fire aftermath chaired by President Vladimir Putin.

"Fire alarm was out of service since March 19, and nobody was tackling the issue," Bastrykin said.

He added that one of the shopping mall’s security guards had failed to promptly turn the voice alert system on.

"We can’t provide a reasonable explanation, he just seems to be untrained," the Investigative Committee chief said.

DNA examination of the bodies might take up to two weeks, Bastrykin said. "37 victims require genetic examination, it will take up to two weeks," he said.

The fire started on the top floor of the four-storey Zimnyaya Vishnya (or Winter Cherry) shopping mall on March 25, engulfing an area of some 1,500 square meters. According to the most recent data, a total of 64 people were killed in the fire, 60 injured were treated in hospitals, 15 of them were hospitalized and 40 received outpatient care. The bodies of 25 victims have already been identified, including 13 children.

On March 26, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan extended condolences to President of Russia Vladimir Putin on the tragedy.

English –translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan