Aman Tuleyev, the governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region, resigned from his post on Sunday, 10 days after a fire at a shopping mall killed 64 people. Tuleyev said stepping down from the post was “the right, conscious and only true decision” after the disaster, the BBC reported.
“I submitted my resignation letter to the Russian president,” he said in a three-minute video released by his office on Sunday, AFP reported. Tuleyev, who has been at the helm of the region since 1997, said he would find it difficult to continue in the post with “such a heavy burden”.
The fire broke out around 5 pm local time (3.30 pm IST) on March 22 on the fourth floor of the mall. The mall had a three-screen cinema complex, a skating rink and an entertainment hub for children.
The governor had been criticised soon after the disaster for not visiting the mall in the first few days or meeting the bereaved relatives, AFP reported. Despite protests in the city, President Vladimir Putin had initially refused to sack the 73-year-old governor.
Many families protested against poor safety measures, which they blamed for the increased casualties. According to reports, safety rules had been violated, the fire alarm system was not working and the security guards were among the first to flee when the fire broke out.
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