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Thousands of angry and distraught Russians rallied Tuesday in a Siberian city to demand a full probe into a shopping mall fire that killed at least 64 people, many of them children, the AP reports.

President Vladimir Putin, who also visited the city, blamed the deaths on "a criminal negligence, sloppiness," as he laid flowers in tribute to the victims. He did not meet with the protesters.

The blaze engulfed the Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo on Sunday, the first weekend of the school recess, trapping dozens of parents and children inside. Eyewitnesses reported that fire alarms were silent and many doors were locked.

The angry residents rallied outside the regional government building in Kemerovo for hours, with many of the protesters taking the stage to accuse the authorities of hiding the real scale of the disaster.

According to Interfax, they also demand the resignation of Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleyev.