Russia today began a national day of mourning and held the first funerals for the victims of a fire that ravaged a busy shopping centre in Siberia and killed 64 people, most of them children.
Flags were lowered and entertainment events cancelled for the day of mourning, three days after the devastating blaze on Sunday in the city of Kemerovo.
It comes amid widespread public anger at the blatant safety violations at the mall where children were trapped in a locked cinema and the fire alarm system was broken.
The youngest victim according to an official list published by Kemerovo authorities was a two-year-old boy, while at least 19 of the 64 people killed were under 10.
The authorities have made efforts to show concern, with President Vladimir Putin visiting the scene and upbraiding officials, although some observers criticised the official reaction as insufficient and belated.
"The authorities were late in announcing mourning," political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told Vedomosti business daily.
"Possibly they didn't want to spoil the positive mood after the elections and there was hope that the tragedy would not turn out to be so large-scale."
A deputy governor responded by accusing some of seeking "publicity from grief."
Television channels on Wednesday broadcast with a black ribbon on the screen or a message "Kemerovo - we mourn," while Orthodox Christian channel Spas aired a show called "Kemerovo: what can our prayers do?"
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