Death toll rises to 19 in Russia fire

At least 19 people have been killed including a Turkish national in the fire that collapsed a shopping center in the western Russian city of Kazan on Wednesday, officials have said, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.

The head of a regional branch of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Igor Panshin said Saturday that the death toll had risen to 19 from a previously reported 11.

Seventeen bodies were recovered and two bodies still remain under rubble, it was reported.

The name of the Turkish victim is Kazim Sumer, born in 1989, according to authorities in the Republic of Tatarstan, of which Kazan is the capital.

Tatarstan declared a day of mourning Saturday. The flags of Russia and Tatarstan were lowered.

A fire broke out on Wednesday in a cafe located in the mall's first floor and spread to the other two floors, the media reported.

Around 650 people had to be evacuated from the complex.

Saturday 14 March 2015

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