37 Dead, Dozens of Children Missing after Tragic Mall Blaze in Russia’s Kemerovo

Please pray for these children

© 42.mchs.gov.ru

As rescuers continue to search the burned-out shopping mall in the city of Kemerovo, many have been frantically trying to reach their relatives, including children who were in the mall’s cinema or play area when the fire started.

At least 11 children are among the victims of the blaze, with the death toll now exceeding 30, according to sources in the emergency services, cited by Russian news agencies.

Some 69 people, including 40 children, were said to be missing after the fire in the shopping mall.

The fire, which broke out on Sunday afternoon, was finally contained some 12 hours later, after engulfing some 1,600 square meters. The building sustained severe damage, its roof and floors partially collapsing.

Some 43 people were injured in the blaze, according to the emergency services, and 37 remain hospitalized.

German Mall Shut Down After 'Concrete Indications' of Attack

Several hundred people miss a day's work; 200 stores lose thousands of dollars in business; thousands of people's lives are altered; and dozens, if not hundreds of police are called out! Welcome to the new Germany. How do you like me so far?

By Daniel Uria 

Police in Germany shut down a major shopping center on Saturday after receiving "concrete indications"

of a possible attack. Sascha Steinbach/EPA

March 11 (UPI) -- A shopping center in Germany was shut down after Police received "concrete indications" of a possible terror attack.

Police said the mall at Limbecker Platz in the city of Essen would remain closed on Saturday due to the threat of a possible attack.

The shopping center at Limbecker Platz in downtown Essen will be closed for security reasons this Saturday," police said in a statement. "The police have concrete indications of a possible attack. In order to avoid possible danger to the visitors, they will not be able to enter the sales halls or the parking garage."

Armed police and vans surrounded the shopping center, which is one of Germany's largest with almost 200 stores. Police said it was the sole focus of the threat.

The police statement did not mention terrorism. A police spokesman told a German broadcaster the threat was viewed as a possible terrorist attack.

Police spokesman Peter Elke said officers were also searching an apartment in the nearby city of Oberhausen and questioning the apartment's owner about the mall threat.