The death toll from a horrific fire that engulfed a nightclub in Russia's Urals early on Saturday has risen to 109, local investigators said.
"During the fire, 102 people died. Seven more have died in hospital," an Investigation Committee spokesman told RIA Novosti.
The health minister earlier said that dozens of people were being kept alive with medical ventilators.
Tatyana Golikova said that most of the injured have burns covering more than 50% of their bodies. Several of them are being flown to Moscow for treatment.
"Unfortunately, the burns are quite serious... There are 130 people in hospital, of whom 88 are in a serious condition. Of these, 59 have been put on medial ventilators," the minister, currently in Perm along with other cabinet ministers, told President Dmitry Medvedev in a video linkup.
Emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu told the president that 34 of the bodies have been identified.
He said the club's owners had received two previous fines for breaching fire safety regulations, and were due for an inspection on Monday.
"The fire broke out in a place where pyrotechnics should not have been used under any circumstances," he said.
The venue had a suspended ceiling, which allowed the flames to spread rapidly.
"The power shut off immediately, and panic broke out," Shoigu said.
Eyewitnesses said the venue had only one exit, and a stampede ensued. Russian TV channels have shown footage filmed by clubgoer with a digital camera, showing the flames spreading over a ceiling decorated with twigs, in an apparent barn theme.
The owner and manager of the club, Anatoly Zak and Svetlana Yefremova, have been arrested, and face jail terms of up to seven years. Four other suspects are wanted in the case.
"They have no brains and no conscience. They showed complete indifference to what was going on... They must face full punishment," he said.
The president said the sentences the culprits face under current laws are far too mild.
"We must think about the laws on such events. They should be much stricter, and failure to abide by them, including breaches of fire safety regulations, should be much more severely punished."
The venue, which covers an area of 500 square meters, was almost completely destroyed by the blaze.
The club is known to have held several indoor fireworks displays in the past, shown in the image gallery on the Lame Horse website www.clubxl.ru.
The site still displays an advert for last night's party marking "the birthday of our favorite club", saying "guests dressed as new-born babies are admitted free until midnight."
The site offers "a bright lively disco with energy and drive with modern dance music - and at 1:00 at night the show begins." The club, with capacity of 450, says its guests are subject to "face control".
Perm Territory Governor Oleg Chirkunov has announced three days of mourning as of today.
"During the three days of mourning, Russian flags and Perm Territory flags will be flown at half mast. TV and radio stations and cultural establishments are asked to cancel all entertainment events and broadcasts during these days," the governor's press service said.
MOSCOW, December 5 (RIA Novosti)
