Putin lambasts Russian officials for disco blaze

A man passes by television sets, showing Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a question-and-answer show at a Russian state TV channel, at an electronics shop in Moscow December 3, 2009.

PERM, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lambasted local officials on Tuesday for failing to enforce fire safety rules at a nightclub where 118 revelers died in a blaze last weekend.

Russia's most deadly fire in decades was sparked when an indoor firework show ignited wicker coverings on the walls, prompting a stampede as partygoers rushed toward a narrow door to escape clouds of toxic black smoke.

Putin, who on arrival laid scarlet roses at the entrance to the nightclub in the city of Perm, hinted that corruption as well as negligence was to blame. He said fire inspectors had warned the club owners a year ago but failed to check if any action had been taken.

"Such an attitude can be qualified as negligence, at least," Putin said. "Possibly there were other motives for the lack of action by state officials -- investigators should thoroughly check all possibilities."

Hours after Putin's criticism, Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu sacked the head of Perm's local fire inspectorate and several deputies, a spokeswoman said.

The death toll has risen to 118 and 105 people remain in burns units in Moscow and other cities. Many of the injured, mostly people in their 20s and 30s, have burns to more than 50 percent of their bodies and some are being kept alive with artificial respirators. Officials said plastic surgery would be needed for many.

"SLIPSHOD ATTITUDES"

President Dmitry Medvedev criticized "slipshod attitudes" which he said caused far too many disasters across the vast country. "I would even call it simply slovenly recklessness which has turned into a threat to the state," Medvedev said.

More than 15,000 people die each year in fires across Russia and senior officials acknowledge that fire inspections are routinely used as a way to demand bribes from establishments rather than enforce safety rules.

"Well, Putin told them off and they are doing loads of checks," said Nina Kostina, a 26-year-old woman in Perm. "They will ban fireworks ahead of New Year but in a month's time everything will be like it always was. Nothing will change."

Police have arrested the owner and two managers at the club on charges of manslaughter and breaches of fire safety. Charges have also been brought against the firework show organizer.

"The businessmen broke every rule in the book," Putin said, describing what he called a "vicious circle" of corruption, negligence and cost-cutting on safety. Prosecutors say the club was not properly equipped with fire extinguishers.

Putin said hospitals in Perm -- a city of nearly a million people in the Urals mountains about 1,150 km (720 miles) east of Moscow -- had not been able to treat the victims properly, the first public criticism of the rescue efforts.

"According to the Health Ministry's reports, the hospitals that they checked are in a dire state and they could not find even the essential medications there," Putin said.

(Additional reporting by Gleb Bryanski in Moscow; writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gleb Bryanski; editing by Mark Trevelyan)