March 28 was declared a day of national mourning following a catastrophic blaze that engulfed a shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo leading to 64 deaths. Funeral services for the fire victims are underway in three of Kemerovo’s churches. Scores of people have come to pay their last respects, many bringing flowers and wreaths. Flags are flying at half mast, and entertainment events have been cancelled across the region.

Calamity in Kemerovo

A catastrophic inferno broke out on the top floor of the Zimnyaya Vishnya (or Winter Cherry) a four-story shopping mall in Kemerovo on March 25. According to recent reports, the conflagration killed 64 people, including 41 children.