Guwahati: A fire that erupted in a café in the Russian city of Kostroma on Saturday resulted in 15 deaths and the evacuation of more than 200 people.
Authorities claimed that the fire started in the early hours when someone allegedly brandished a flare gun after an argument.
250 people were successfully evacuated by rescuers. Sergei Sitnikov, the region’s governor, reported that five persons who had minor injuries sought medical attention.
The cafe’s roof fell in during the fire.
According to the reports, the flare gun user is wanted by the police and a criminal inquiry has been launched.
A riverbank city with a population of 270,000, Kostroma is about 340 kilometres (210 miles) north of Moscow.
Pyrotechnics have started fatal fires at entertainment venues before in Russia. In 2009, a fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in the city of Perm that broke out after someone set off fireworks killed more than 150 people.