MOSCOW (AP) – A fire at a large cafe in the Russian city of Kostroma killed 13 people and injured five others on Saturday, local authorities said.
The governor of Kostroma region, Sergei Sitnikov, said 13 people died in the fire and five others were slightly injured. Kostroma, a riverside city of 270,000, is located 340 kilometers (210 miles) north of Moscow.
The fire broke out in the early hours of the morning after someone apparently used a firearm, according to authorities. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported that a fight broke out in the cafe shortly before the fire, but it was not immediately clear if it was related to the firearm.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said a suspect had been taken into custody for allegedly firing the firearm and that the cafe’s manager was also being held.
Rescuers managed to evacuate 250 people. The roof of the cafe collapsed during the fire, which engulfed an area of 3,500 square meters (over 37,000 square feet). Firefighters spent five hours battling the fire and twelve residents of neighboring residential buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
Ikhtiyar Mirzoyev, a member of the regional legislature and owner of the cafe, promised help to those affected by the fire.
It was not the first time that fireworks caused a deadly fire at a recreation area in Russia. In 2009, more than 150 people were killed in a fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in the city of Perm that broke out when an artist set off fireworks.
