Four people died and at least nine were injured in a fire at the Solnechny shopping center in Sterlitamak. The fire was accompanied by thick black smoke, visitors jumped from windows, and people below stretched out blankets to catch them. Among the victims are three own sisters. Two of them worked in a tailoring studio in the shopping center that caught fire, and the third had come to visit them. RIA Novosti investigated the causes of the tragedy.
At about 13:30, the duty unit of the Sterlitamak police received a report of a fire in one of the city's most popular shopping centers. Solnechny is always crowded: it has many shops, a virtual arena, and on the first floor there is a mini-market where meat and confectionery products are sold, stationery is sold and keys are made.
According to a local resident, even near the building the black smoke was so thick that she had to breathe through a handkerchief.
Eyewitnesses say the fire began spreading from the second floor. At the same time, the fire alarm did not go off at the moment the fire started - at least that is what visitors to the shopping center claim.
"When the smoke started pouring out, there were no alarm signals," a woman who managed to evacuate from the first floor told RIA Novosti.
People looked for the exit on their own, and the corridors were cluttered with cabinets that made movement difficult. Before rescuers arrived, some shoppers jumped from the windows.
In one video, a group of ten people stretches a blanket under a window from which thick smoke is pouring. "Jump, jump!" shouts can be heard. A few seconds later, a visitor to the shopping center falls onto the blanket.
Residents who were nearby tried to help those trapped in the burning building even before firefighters arrived. One of these volunteers was Daniil Isayev, a driver for the Sterlitamak bakery. At about half past one he arrived at the company store to the left of the shopping center building to unload goods.
"Black smoke was pouring from the windows of Solnechny, and several people got out onto the canopy over the entrance," the young man told RIA Novosti.
He noticed two girls on the third floor. They were calling for help and shining the flashlights on their phones. Four men were bustling below - they wanted to set up a ladder, but it was not long enough to reach the window.
"There was no time to wait for the firefighters, it was a matter of seconds," the driver continues. "I set the goods aside and drove right up to the wall. The ladder was raised onto my car, and it reached the window."
The girls climbed down, and other passersby caught them below.
"And right then flames burst from that window. If it weren't for us, they would have died," Daniil says.
The girls were very frightened and shaking. They had inhaled carbon monoxide and smoke. One needed medical help, the other held on but was in a state of shock.
Besides shops, the third floor of the shopping center housed children's development clubs, eyewitnesses Snezhana and Adelina told the fire. "The two girls who climbed down the ladder onto the roof of the van most likely came out from there," they suggested.
Four people died in the fire, and at least nine more were injured. The condition of a 27-year-old girl who jumped from the third floor is assessed as moderate severity. The regional Health Ministry specified that four visitors were hospitalized. One of the women is in serious condition in intensive care.
Three own sisters died: 33-year-old Viktoria, 27-year-old Alyona and 29-year-old Yelizaveta. Two of the girls worked in the shopping center in a tailoring studio, the city's emergency services reported. The third, the youngest, had come to visit them. According to Telegram channels, they wanted to choose a birthday present for their mother together.
The cause of the fire, according to preliminary data, was a short circuit.
The head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, commented on the situation: "The elimination of the fire at the Solnechny shopping center in Sterlitamak continues. Fire crews from the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the republic's State Committee for Emergency Situations, as well as other operational and emergency services, are working."
Khabirov ordered an emergency commission to be convened in order to inspect the remaining shopping centers in the near future and prevent a repeat of the tragedy.
The head of the Sterlitamak administration, Emil Shaimardanov, assured that the relatives of the dead would be given support. Medical workers, including psychologists, are working with the injured.
A criminal case has been opened under Part 3 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code (causing death by negligence to two or more persons). An investigation is underway.