Officials: Russian nightclub death toll rises to 121

Officials: Russian nightclub fire toll hits 121

MOSCOW — The death toll from last weekend’s Russian nightclub fire has risen to 121, investigators said Wednesday.

The blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub broke out early Saturday when an indoor fireworks display ignited the plastic ceiling, which was decorated with branches. The blaze spread swiftly while hundreds of customers tried to flee through a single exit.

The federal Investigative Committee posted a Web site statement with the updated death toll. It said 44 children lost one parent in the blaze, and 14 lost both parents.

Many of the 111 people still hospitalized are in critical condition.

Four people, including the club owner and a pyrotechnics supplier, have been jailed pending an investigation into negligence causing death, and several regional fire safety officials have been fired.

Another suspect, the club’s tenant, died in a Moscow clinic Wednesday from injuries sustained in the fire, investigators said.