UPDATE - Shopping mall fire in Siberia kills 37

UPDATES WITH TURKISH FM SENDING CONDOLENCES MESSAGE

By Ali Cura

MOSCOW (AA) - The death toll of a fire in the Siberian city of Kemerovo shopping mall reached 37 Sunday, according to the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.

"The overall number of those killed by fire is 37," a spokesman for the firefighting operation’s headquarters said.

The agency also reported that thirteen more bodies were found in one of the movie halls, according to the first deputy governor of the Kemerovo region, Vladimir Chernov.

Earlier reports put the number of the fire victims at 12. Forty-three were injured.

According to firefighting officials, the fire started on the fourth and top floors then consumed an area of about 1,600 square meters.

Twenty people managed to be rescued from the building, while some 100 others were evacuated.

The fire was brought under control, an investigation has been launched about the incident.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry Mevlut Cavusoglu offered condolences in a Tweet shared early Monday.

"Saddened by the news that many people lost their lives because of the fire broke out in Russia's Kemerovo city," Cavusoglu tweeted. "I would like to offer condolences to Russian people and state, as well as victims' families."