Saturday, December 5, 2009

Explosion in Russian nightclub 'kills scores'


An explosion has torn through a nightclub in the Russian city of Perm, killing at least 76 people.

Another 60 people were injured in the blast, the city's emergency services told the BBC.

About 200 people are said to have been in the club, named as the Lame Horse, when the blast occurred at 2315 local time (2015 GMT).

Police are investigating whether the accident was caused by two large firework displays.

A spokesman for the prosecutor-general's main investigative unit told Itar-Tass news agency this was not a terrorist attack.

"We are talking about a failure to observe fire regulations," he said.

Smoke inhalation

The nightclub had been celebrating its eighth anniversary, the emergency services said.

It is believed that most victims died from smoke inhalation, they added.

Russian state-run TV channel Vesti-24 showed images of bodies piled in the street outside the club.

News agencies quoted officials as saying there was no blaze following the blast.

Perm is some 1,400km (870 miles) east of Moscow and has a population of 1.2 million. It is the sixth largest city in Russia.

The Lame Horse nightclub is located in the city centre, reports said.

BBC News

No comments:

Post a Comment

Bookmark and Share