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DNA tests needed to identify Kemerovo fire victims

According to the latest reports, 64 people died and more than 40 others required medical assistance

KEMEROVO, March 26. /TASS/. DNA tests will be required for identifying the bodies of those who died in the shopping center fire in Kemerovo, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said in a distance conference on Monday.

"Some bodies are unidentifiable at first sight. DNA tests will be required. They will be held at the morgue here, in the Kemerovo Region," she said.

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The fire occurred on the fourth floor of a shopping and entertainment center in Kemerovo on March 25. Open fire has been eliminated on an area of 1,500 square meters by now. Debris are being removed and investigators are examining the scene.

Criminal proceedings have been launched under three articles of the Criminal Code - negligent homicide, violation of fire safety rules that caused the death of two or more persons and provision of services failing to meet safety requirements.

Four suspected accomplices have been detained. One of them is the leaseholder of the room where the fire presumably started, and the manager of the company that serviced the shopping center.

According to the latest reports, 64 people died and 40 others required medical assistance.

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