An 11-year-old boy, whose parents and sister died after saving him from a massive fire in the Zimnyaia Vishnya shopping mall, was told of his loss while recovering in the hospital, teenage psychiatrist Anna Portnova said Friday.
"They (relatives and doctors) could not cope with it themselves and, afraid to see the child's severe reactions, did not know how to choose the right words. Today after a long work [on the task] ... we chose the appropriate behavior and tactics to talk with the child," said the Moscow-based psychiatrist said, who is currently working at the site of the tragedy.
According to her, the boy "reacted, as the child should have reacted. He was crying." Despite the shock, the boy did not withdraw inside himself but began to talk, asking about his future and where he would live, Portnova said.
"Psychological help is needed not only for the children, but also for their close relatives who cannot dare to tell a child about the loss of parents. Our task here is to help them cope with their grief, and to teach them how to help the child," Portnova told journalists.
Before his death, the father of the boy pushed him out of a window in the mall, seriously injuring the child but also saving his life. The boy was diagnosed with smoke poisoning, internal bruising of the liver, heart, kidneys and lungs, a fractured pelvis, as well as cuts on his face. Due to severe damage to his lungs, he was dependent on a lung ventilator to breathe after being rushed to the hospital.
The Commissioner for Children's Rights in Kuzbass, Dmitry Kislitsyn, told RIA Novosti that one of the boy's grandmothers will become his guardian.
The massive blaze in the four-story Zimnyaia Vishnya shopping center in Kemerovo, a city in Russia's Siberian region, occurred Sunday. The fire broke out on the top floor, where several cinemas and children's play areas were located, killing 64 people, including 41 children. The Kemerovo region this week declared a three-day mourning period.
