Over 90 Killed in Russia Club Explosion

Moscow, Dec 5 – An explosion in a club in the city of Perm in Russia killed at least 90 people and injured 114, an emergencies ministry source said Saturday.

The explosion and the subsequent fire is believed to have been caused by breaches of fire safety rules while using pyrotechnics, a local emergencies ministry source said.

‘Almost all dead and injured have already been taken away. The site of the tragedy is now cordoned off,’ the source said.

A local police source said most casualties were due to smoke and stampede that followed.

‘According to preliminary data, a stampede occurred at the exit, and those who stayed at the cafe died of carbon dioxide poisoning,’ the source said.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control. The majority of victims were cafe employees and their relatives, as the cafe marked its anniversary.

Investigators have ruled out a terrorist attack.

–RIA Novosti

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Posted by Vamban on Dec 5, 2009 @ 7:04 AM Filed under Europe, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry