Four people have been charged in connection with the horrific blaze which killed 118 people at a nightclub in the Russian city of Perm on Saturday.
The fire is believed to have started from a firework display which went wrong at the Lame Horse nightclub, setting fire to the ceiling and spreading rapidly.
Many of those who died were trapped in the crush that developed as people tried to escape. Around 120 people were injured, and many of them are in a critical condition.
The nightclub’s owners and managers are among those charged by prosecutors.
On a visit to the scene of the tragedy today, President Vladimir Putin attacked the way existing fire safety laws in Russia were often disregarded and poorly enforced. He said that in spite of reports of a previous inspection of the premises which found fire safety breaches, this were never followed up and enforced.
"In this case we cannot accept the often-used excuse that existing legislation does not allow unscheduled inspections, he said. "First of all, we are dealing with public premises, a place where large numbers of people gather on a regular basis. Secondly, existing legislation does allow contacting the prosecutor’s office and obtaining the necessary permission for a unscheduled inspection. This was not done.
A survivor of the fire told Associated Press that fire took seconds to spread. "It was like a dry haystack. There was only one way out. They nearly stampeded me."
