111 killed, 134 injured in Russian nightclub explosion

Vinay Shukla
Moscow, Dec 5 (PTI) At least 111 people were killed and
134 injured, most of them seriously, when an explosion caused
by fireworks set ablaze a packed nightclub in the Russian city
of Perm early Saturday.
The blast hit the Lame Horse nightclub as over 220
people, mostly its employees and their families, were partying
inside to celebrate its eighth anniversary, ITAR-TASS reported
quoting local police.
"The accident was due to a violation of instructions
when launching fireworks," senior judicial official Vladimir
Markin was quoted as saying.
The state-owned Vesti TV said that 111 people were killed
and 134 injured, 85 of them seriously, in the accident which
occurred the Russian Ural city of Perm in the wee hours
Saturday.
Most of the victims succumbed to burns and carbon
monoxide poisoning.
"The majority of the deaths were the result of burns or
gas inhalation, Markin, was quoted as saying by 'RIA Novosti'.
"Along with this, there was a crush at the exit" as panicked
crowd scrambled hard to escape, he said.
He ruled out the possibility that the accident was caused
by a terrorist act. "There is no chance it was a terrorist
act, I can say that 100 per cent," Markin was quoted as saying
by Vesti TV. (More) PTI