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Death toll from Kemerovo shopping mall fire reaches 12

The fire at the Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping mall in central Kemerovo started on the fourth, top, floor and consumed an area of about 1,600 square meters

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The death toll from the disastrous fire in a shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo has reached 12 as rescuers found five more dead bodies, a spokesman for the firefighting operation’s headquarters told TASS on Sunday.

"Rescuers have found five more bodies. Thus, the numbers of those killed by the fire has risen to 12," the spokesman said, adding that 43 people were hurt.

The fire at the Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping mall in central Kemerovo started on the fourth, top, floor and consumed an area of about 1,600 square meters. Twenty people were saved from the burning building, and some 100 others were evacuated. By now, the fire has been localized. A criminal case was opened.

The shopping mall with an overall area of 23,000 square meters was opened in 2013. It has a parking lot for 250 cars, shops, a bowling, a children’s center, a cinema, and a petting zoo.

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