A spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry in Moscow said the fire occured at the Lame Horse nightclub in the center of Perm, an industrial city of 1.2 million located more than 1,000 km east of Moscow.

Authorities say an indoor fireworks display caused the fire. An errant firework hit the club's plastic ceiling at around 1:30 a.m. Friday, local time. Wicker decorations on the wall caught fire, and many of the dead were killed in the resulting stampede for the exits.

"People panicked and succumbed to burns, general crush and gas poisoning," Perm's regional public security minister, Igor Orlov, told the ITAR-TASS news agency.

A witness told Reuters that dozens of charred bodies were piled on the pavement outside the club as medics transferred the injured into ambulances. Blood-covered women in evening dresses laid on gurneys as policemen swarmed the scene.

Terrorism not a factor

Initial reports had incorrectly mentioned an explosion at the club, leading to speculation that the fire may have been a terrorist attack. But Russian officials have ruled that out as a possibility, saying no trace of explosives or other evidence has been found.

"There is no chance it was a terrorist act, I can say that 100 percent," investigative committe spokesman Vladimir Markin told Vesti-24 television.

Russian officials have dismissed any links between the nightclub disaster and the November 27 bombing of a train line between Moscow and St. Petersburg that killed 26 people and injured more than 100. Chechen militants claimed responsibility for that attack.

"We are not talking about a terrorist attack," Oleg Chirkunov, the governor of Perm region, told Vesti-24 TV channel.

Treating the victims, investigating the cause

Local police estimated that more than 230 people were inside the club at the time, celebrating its anniversary. Most were employees of the club along with their friends and relatives.

Two airplanes equipped to treat burns and staffed with doctors, psychologists and rescue workers were sent to Perm from Moscow early on Saturday, officials said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, Health Minister Tatyana Golikova and Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts.

The Kremlin has ordered the formation of a government commission to deal with the accident, and two of the club's owners have been arrested and accused of repeatedly ignoring safety warnings. One of the owners denied these claims, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the owners for neglecting safety standards.

"They have neither brains, nor conscience," Medvedev said.

The president declared Monday a national day of mourning.

svs/nrt/rtr/AFP/AP/dpa
Editor: Stephanie Siek