Firemen Ilya Bykov and Rostislav Krylov take a selfie in front of building in Kazan, Russia, where 17 people died

WHAT were these firemen thinking when they took this selfie in front of a Russian shopping centre blaze where 17 people died and 55 were seriously hurt?

CREDIT: AUSTRALSCOPE ONLINE USE ONLY Pic shows: Russian firemen Ilya Bykov and Rostislav Krylov took a selfie of themselves standing in front of a blazing building in which 17 people were killed. Russian firemen who took a selfie of themselves standing in front of a blazing building in which 17 people were killed are facing the sack. Ilya Bykov, 30, and Rostislav Krylov, 28, had been called to the shopping centre inferno in the city of Kazan in the central Russian Republic of Tatarstan, after it broke out last week killing 17 and seriously injuring 55 including two policemen and two emergency workers. The fire, which is thought to have started in a cafe next door to the complex on March 11, was at first tackled by a lone security guard. But as it raged out of control he phoned the emergency services as horrified shoppers fled in terror. Now it has emerged that two of the firemen called to the scene were busy taking the selfies. Appearing on the social networking site VKontakt, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, the two men are seen smiling as flames engulf the building behind them. Horrified viewer Yegor Tokaryev posted: "Christ! People are dying in there and these men are smiling and taking photos!! They are there to save lives." Another disgusted viewer Svetlana Kapustina wrote: "It makes me sick to think that while those poor people were burning to death these two were treating it as some sort of joke. "Shame on them." Now authorities say they are looking into the photos and may take disciplinary steps. A spokesman for the Regional Emergency Situations Department said: "Most to the emergency workers called to the scene did their job competently and efficiently. "These two are not characteristic of those who work hard every day, tirelessly saving lives. "We are looking into the circumstances behind the photo and if it is found that the actions of these two firemen put people's lives at risk they shall be fired and criminal proceedings brought against them." (ends)

IN the premier league of bad taste, the selfie taken by these two firemen in front of fire ripping through a shopping centre must be near the top.

Ilya Bykov, 30, and Rostislav Krylov, 28, posed for the selfie as fire ripped through the Admiral shopping centre in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Russia.

Seventeen people were killed in the blaze and 55 people were seriously injured including two police officers and two other emergency workers.

Smile for a selfie ... Firemen Ilya Bykov and Rostislav Krylov stand in front of a blazing shopping centre in which 17 people died and 55 people were seriously hurt. Picture: Australscope

The selfie rivals those taken in front of the fatal TransAsia Airways plane crash in Taiwan; taken on board the plane transferring condemned drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to their place of execution; taken by a woman with make-up stolen from the crashed MH17 plane in Ukraine, taken by a paramedic in front of dying patients.

When the selfie picture was uploaded onto VKontakt, Russia’s version of Facebook, the firemen were heavily criticised.

“Christ! People are dying in there and these men are smiling and taking photos!! They are there to save lives,” Yegor Tokaryev wrote under the picture, Metro UK reported.

Svetlana Kapustina wrote: “It makes me sick to think that while those poor people were burning to death these two were treating it as some sort of joke. Shame on them.”

Seventeen people were killed in the blaze and 55 people were seriously injured ... Smoke billows from the fire that destroyed Admiral shopping centre in Kazan. Picture: AP / Nikolay Alexandrov

A spokesman for the Regional Emergency Situations Department said: “Most to the emergency workers called to the scene did their job competently and efficiently.

“These two are not characteristic of those who work hard every day, tirelessly saving lives.

“We are looking into the circumstances behind the photo and if it is found that the actions of these two firemen put people’s lives at risk they shall be fired and criminal proceedings brought against them.”

Searching for bodies ... Seventeen died and 55 seriously hurt in the fire at Admiral shopping centre in Kazan. Picture: AFP / Russia’s Emergency Ministry