MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin has declared March 21 a day of mourning for the victims of a West Siberian mine explosion, a plane crash on the Volga and a fire in a retirement home in southern Russia, the Kremlin press service said Tuesday.
A total of 106 people died in the explosion in the Ulyanovskaya mine in the Kemerovo Region March 19, six people were killed and more than 20 injured in the Tu-134 crash in Samara March 17, and 62 died in the fire at a retirement home in the Krasnodar Territory March 20.
Putin ordered that flags fly at half-mast and entertainment events and television programs cancelled across the country March 21.
He also ordered the government and local administrations "to establish commissions to investigate the causes of the tragedies and to help the families of the victims."
