MOSCOW: A Russian court sentenced the owner of a Russian nightclub where a fire killed 156 people to nearly 10 years in jail yesterday after convicting him and seven others, including organisers of a fireworks show that touched off the blaze.
The 2009 fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in the city of Perm, 1,150km east of Moscow, broke out when a pyrotechnics display set fire to wicker decorations during a party.
Club co-owner Anatoly Zak received nine years and 10 months in prison for negligence. The father-and-son organisers of the pyrotechnics display both received nearly five years each for safety violations.
The region’s former chief fire inspector, Vladimir Mukhutdinov, was also charged but his punishment was reduced under Russia’s statute of limitations.
Reuters
