
The manager of the mall where 64 people were killed in a catastrophic blaze in Siberia has accused young men 'of different nationalities' of deliberately starting the fire.

Nadezhda Suddenok, who is in charge of the firm that rents the Winter Cherry shopping centre's top two floors in Kemerovo, was one of five people arrested after the tragedy and is now being questioned in court.

Investigators identified a short circuit as a possible cause, and said the emergency exits at the Zimnyaya Vishnya mall were locked shut, hampering an evacuation.

Suddenok (pictured) said a group of men aged between 17 and 27 had been kicked out of the mall earlier in the month because they were harassing customers

It comes as the first funerals for the victims of the disaster are held. Dozens of mourners were seen saying their final goodbyes at tiny caskets for some of the 41 children who perished in the fire, believed to have been caused by a series of appalling safety blunders

Relatives of Maria Agarkova, 10, one of the victims of the fire at the shopping mall, cry over her coffin during her funeral in the Siberian city of Kemerovo

Final goodbye: A woman stands over one of the caskets during a funeral ceremony for some of the victims of the Kemerovo shopping mall fire disaster

United in grief: Dozens attend the funeral of some of the Kemerovo shopping mall fire victims at the Holy Trinity Cathedral

But Suddenok, whose statement in court was reported by the Moscow Times, said: 'I believe that it was arson.'

She said a group of men aged between 17 and 27 had been kicked out of the mall earlier in the month because they were harassing customers.

'These teenagers were of different nationalities, I can't say which nationality exactly, but with a black beard, like those worn by [people] of the Chechen, Caucasus, nationality,' she said.

She added that one of the young men 'looked like a gypsy and we can describe him very clearly.'

Suddenok also denied that the doors of the cinema had been locked, preventing the children's escape after the blaze, and said she 'didn't know that there were any problems' with the reportedly faulty alarm system.

Heartbreaking: A woman holds on to a casket for a child victim of the fire at the Zimnyaya Vishnya shopping centre, which killed at least 64, many of them children

Nadezhda Suddenok (pictured), who is in charge of the firm that rents the Winter Cherry shopping centre's top two floors in Kemerovo, was one of five people arrested after the tragedy and is now being questioned in court

Emotional: One woman breaks down during the funeral, held in the wake of the shocking fire disaster

People mourn as they gather to commemorate victims of a fire in the Kemerovo's Zimnyaya Vishnya shopping centre at the Manezhnaya square in central Moscow

It comes as the first funerals for the victims of the disaster are held.

Dozens of mourners were seen saying their final goodbyes at tiny caskets for some of the more than 40 children who perished in the fire, believed to have been caused by a series of appalling safety blunders.

Some of the victims died in a locked movie theater, while others perished because of a lack of fire alarms, and an inept response to the blaze.

Officials say 64 people died in Sunday's Kemerovo catastrophe, but local activists representing relatives of the victims claim they have a list of some 85 names of local people missing after the fire - a discrepancy of 21.

'All data was received either in person, via email or text message,' said a spokesman.

'There were repeated surnames. Some 70 per cent of the missing people were children aged between ten and 13.'

One representative of the group said the number of bodies may not match because of the extreme heat inside the scorched cinemas.

'For a long time there was a high temperature in the building, many bodies literally turned to ashes.'

Grief: A woman cries during a funeral service, as it is revealed that seven in ten of the missing in the fire are children

Tears: Family members and relatives walk into the cathedral for the funeral ceremony on Wednesday

A priest conducts a service during a funeral of a victim of a shopping mall fire at a cemetery in Kemerovo, Russia

Loss and anger: A man kisses a photo during a funeral of a victim of the shopping mall fire, as local activists accuse Russian officials of lying about the number of people lost in the catastrophe

As funerals for 14 of the 27 identified victims take place in Kemerovo today, local activists say they have a list of 85 people missing - warning that it might get even longer

Mourners hold candles during the funeral of some of the Kemerovo shopping mall fire victims at the Holy Trinity Cathedral

City in mourning: An elderly woman holds roses and a portrait of some of the children who died int he fire

Russia is observing a day of mourning on Wednesday, with thousands of people across the country bringing flowers and stuffed toys to makeshift memorials

Women are seen breaking down in tears as the first funerals for the 14 identified victims take place today

Igor Vostrikov, 31, who lost his wife, sister and three children under the age of eight in the horror, has led claims that that the death toll was higher than admitted.

Speaking at a rally in the town yesterday, he said 'We're not calling for blood. The children are dead, you can't give them back. We need justice.'

As the sombre process of burying the dead got underway, so far only 27 bodies have been formally identified. A total of 14 of these were expected to be buried today.

Andrey Nikulin, who lost his 69-year-old mother, his sister Evgenia and son Slava, ten, in the fire told today how he 'heard them die' in an anguished phone call.

'They called my wife and I saying 'Fire, fire, the cinema is all in smoke… doors are locked, we can't get out'.

They begged firefighters to go to the gasping people - but the rescuers insisted on first finding the start of the fire.

'We were in despair, shouting at them that our relatives were still alive, asking to save them, but they replied – 'we're acting according to instructions'.

'My sister silently said to me on the phone – 'Andrey, we…' and stopped talking. My mother picked up her phone and said – 'This is it, we lost her, she fainted'.

'My son was crying and asked – 'When will we be rescued?'

'My mother panicked at first but later she spoke in a calm voice, almost indifferently – 'It's all over, you won't make it'.

Gathering: People attend a rally organized via social networks, in memory of victims of a fire in the Kemerovo's Zimnyaya Vishnya shopping center at the Pushkinskaya Square in central Moscow

In memoriam: A woman cries as other attendees leave flowers and soft toys during a ceremony in Moscow on Tuesday

Respect: Some 12,000 people were reportedly in attendance at the rally on Tuesday evening

People mourn victims of the shopping mall fire near a makeshift memorial at Manezhnaya square in central Moscow

'Her voice was getting weaker and weaker. Probably she was watching the horrible scene around her, the cinema full of children…

'Other men and I tried to get to the 4th level, but the rescuers were holding us back and did not let us go. I breathed in so much smoke, I was coughing with black for another day.

'But the worst thing is to know that I could do nothing to save my family. I have on the phone how they died… How can I live with it now?'

Last night, some 12,000 people gathered in Moscow, near the Kremlin, to pay tribute to the victims.

'There are no words to express the pain and grief,' Moscow City Duma speaker Alexei Shaposhnikov said. 'We keep all our words deep in our hearts.'

Putin order today to be a day of mourning across Russia's 11 time zones from the Baltic to the Pacific.

Flags were flying at half mast and entertainment shows on TV were cancalled.

A three day mourning period is underway in Kemerovo region in Siberia, the centre of Russia's coal-mining industry.