Prosecutors investigating the causes of last week's deadly fire in a Russian nightclub have said officials at a state inventory service could face charges for failing to check the venue.

The fire broke out in the Lame Horse club in the west Urals city of Perm in the early hours of December 5 after an indoor fireworks display went awry. The death toll from the tragedy has risen steadily throughout the week, reaching 143 as of today.

The Perm region prosecutor's office said in a statement that an investigation has revealed "violations of technical and registration procedures committed by staff" at the state inventory service Rostekhinventarizatsiya in approving documents for the venue.

The statement said the inventory service issued a "technical passport" for the Lame Horse venue in August this year, without having conducted a check, meaning that the papers were "forged" by staff.

The document reportedly contains numerous errors, understating the floorspace, and failing to mention an illegal extension to the building, as well as the fact that the windows had been bricked up.

Prosecutors have submitted the investigation results to the regional police department to decide whether to launch criminal charges against the officials responsible.

MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti)