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Dozens of children are among more than 60 people confirmed to have been killed when flames tore through a Russian shopping mall.

Flames swept through the upper floors of the Winter Cherry complex in Kemerovo, which houses a cinema and softplay centre and was packed with families on the first weekend of school holidays.

Horrifying footage showed terrified survivors leaping from windows as black smoke billowed from the top floors and roof.

One group were filmed trying to batter their way of out a staircase through a jammed emergency exit.

It has been claimed that staff routinely locked fire doors to prevent gatecrashers from entering without paying.

Survivors told how the fire started on the fourth floor play area yesterday afternoon, with intense heat causing bouncy castles to burst into flame.

Two of three cinemas “collapsed” from the fourth to the third floors.

Russian emergency services said a team of 600 rescuers, who spent 17 hours fighting the flames, were still struggling to reach upper floors this morning.

Vladimir Puchkov, Russia’s emergency situations minister, said at least 64 people were confirmed to have been killed.

Six bodies have yet to be recovered and 41 children remain unaccounted for.

The Investigative Committee, which handles major incidents, said 44 survivors had sought medical help, of whom 10 were still in hospital.

The mall, a converted Soviet-era sweet factory in the eastern industrial city, was described as a “labyrinth” with few windows, one main staircase, one lift shaft and one escalator.

Witnesses said fire alarms failed to go off and there were no sprinklers.

It opened in 2013 and also included a petting zoo, bowling alley and trampolines.

Nadezhda Suddenok, the owner of the shopping mall, is among four people detanied for questioning by officials investigating the cause.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “expressed his deep condolences to the relatives and loved ones of those who died”.

A mother, Yulia, said: “It all was happening right in front of my eyes, I was sitting at the sofa opposite the play zone. The fire was grew within seconds, smoke covered all around.

“It was a miracle that we survived.”

One girl, Maria Moroz, 13, messaged from the cinema: “We are on fire,” adding: “Looks like this is farewell from me.”

Among the missing are eight girls from one class in Treschevsky village - all 11 or 12 years old.

In a heartrending final phone call Viktoria ‘Vika’ Pochankina told her aunt: “Everything is burning.

“The doors are blocked. I can’t go out, I can’t breathe.”

Her aunt Evgenia said: “She told me ‘Auntie, tell all my family I love them. Tell mum that I loved her...’”

Local MP for Kemerovo, Anton Gorelkin, said: “This is horrendous. I find it very hard to find words to speak about children who were burned alive. People who are guilty in this must be punished.

“Locked fire exits which turned the shopping mall into a trap. Children that died next to fire exits.

“They knew where to run, they were going in the right direction, but doors were locked.”

He added: “People whose pockets were filling with millions from this shopping mall knew that one day this money will smell of blood.”

A key beneficiary of the shopping mall in Kemerovo - capital of Russia’s main coal mining region - was named as emigre billionaire Denis Shtengelov, the owner of KDV Group, who now resides in Australia.