OREANDA-NEWS. December 7, 2009. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the Vishnevsky Research Institute of Surgery, where he held a conference call on the organisation of work by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development to deal with the aftermath of a night club fire in Perm

Vladimir Putin's opening remarks:  Good afternoon,

Today, as you know, is a sad day for us - a day of mourning. A great tragedy occurred in Perm overnight, claiming more than 100 lives. The total number of victims adds up to 233 people.

Every necessary measure is being taken to investigate the circumstances of this tragedy. The Emergencies Ministry is conducting additional inspections on concert halls, clubs and other similar facilities of mass recreation. This work has started.

But the main thing now is to save those who have suffered burns and injuries. Many are in serious condition. I would like to thank the medics, rescue workers and pilots who worked in the first hours of the tragedy. All in all, 500 medical specialists and 100 ambulance teams were involved.

Many of the victims have been taken to clinics in Moscow, St Petersburg and Chelyabinsk. As of the evening of December 6, Moscow had 65 of them, St Petersburg, 28 and Chelyabinsk, seven. As many as 21 remain in Perm. Twelve evacuation flights have been made. As I mentioned, leading specialists have joined in the effort.

The victims are in for a long treatment. They will require special medicine, equipment, dietetic meals, and care. The life saving medicines and treatments are available. If necessary, the Health Ministry is in a position to purchase anything that's needed, no matter what the cost. This is an occasion when no one will think of money, of course.

I would also like to urge the manufacturers of the pharmaceuticals required in this case - to please respond to medical requests quickly and promptly.

In addition, I would like to address regional heads: the Moscow Mayor and the governors of St Petersburg and the Chelyabinsk Region. Relatives of the victims have arrived in these cities from Perm. They want to be near their families. Please give these people any necessary help.

Now let us discuss the progress of the medical treatment and if additional support is needed; what we together need to do to save people and render them any required assistance.

You have the floor, Ms Golikova.

Tatyana Golikova: Mr Putin, colleagues. I will not reiterate what has been said. I will simply tell you that by order of the Emergencies Ministry we formed rapid response teams as soon as we learned about the accident in the Perm Region. And, on the medical side, I would like to say that one team included nine specialists from the All-Russian Disaster Medicine Service of the Health Ministry. The Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery and the Sklifosovsky Emergency Hospital each contributed two specialists to it.