Russian police have detained a man suspected to have caused a huge fire overnight at a bar in the historic city of Kostroma that killed at least 15 people.
Firefighters fought through the early hours to extinguish the blaze at the popular Poligon bar in the city, which is around 300 kilometres (180 miles) north-east of Moscow.
Russian agencies reported that the fire could have started after a drunk man fired a “flare gun” on the dancefloor.
“Police officers identified and detained the suspect [behind] unlawful acts in an entertainment establishment in the city of Kostroma, which resulted in a fire and the death of people,” Russian police said.
“He has now been handed over to investigative authorities,” it added, without providing any further details.
Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case of “causing death by negligence”.
It published images from inside the burnt-out building. The bar had a collapsed roof and burnt-out walls, with near total destruction inside.
State television showed images of the bar, housed in a single-storey logistical centre, engulfed in flames. Authorities said the fire started at about 2am local time and was put out at about 7.30am.
The regional governor, Sergei Sitnikov, earlier said 13 people had been killed, but emergency services then said the remains of two other people had been found.
About 250 people were evacuated from the building when it caught fire. Emergency services said the blaze spread out over 3,500 square metres. One firefighter told regional state television that it took 50 people to extinguish the fire and that they used 20 fire engines.
Tass, citing sources in emergency services, said of the drunk man suspected to have started the fire: “He was spending time in the bar with a woman, ordered her flowers, with a flare gun in his hands. Then he went to the dancefloor and fired it.”
On its website, Poligon says it acts as an evening and night-time “place for recreation and entertainment”. By day, it is a typical Russian stolovaya – a casual restaurant serving traditional food. It says it is housed in a “distribution centre” and is popular with traffic police.
