Russia detains two people after fire in Kostroma bar kills 13
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Local emergency services said they received reports of the fire at around 2am.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MOSCOW - Russian police on Saturday detained two people, including the suspected perpetrator, after a fire killed at least 13 people at a bar in the historic city of Kostroma.
Russian emergency services told state television that 13 people were killed, denying earlier media reports that 15 people had died.
Firefighters fought through the early hours to extinguish the blaze at the popular Poligon bar in the city, which is around 300 kilometres northeast of Moscow.
Russian agencies reported that the fire could have started after a drunk man fired a “flare gun” on the dance floor.
“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.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said he was aged 23.
It later said a second person was detained, a woman who acted as an organisational director of the bar, in a criminal case on the failure to meet safety requirements.
The RIA Novosti news agency said the bar belonged to a local deputy of the ruling United Russia party, Ikhtiyar Mirzoyev.
Kostroma, a city on the Volga river of around 230,000 people, is one of Russia’s oldest cities and famous for its medieval architecture and monasteries.
Russian news agencies reported that 250 people were evacuated from the building when it caught fire at night.
On its website, Poligon describes itself as a typical Russian “stolovaya” – a casual restaurant that serves traditional food and is popular with workers.
It says it is housed in a “distribution centre” and is popular with traffic police.
State television showed images of dozens of emergency workers fighting a huge fire that engulfed the one-story building.
The sign “Poligon” was visible amid the flames raging on its roof.
One firefighter told regional state television that it took 50 people to extinguish the fire and that they had used 20 fire engines.
He said the fire was especially difficult to put out because of the risk of the building collapsing.
Kostroma, a city on the Volga river of around 230,000 people, is one of Russia’s oldest cities and is famous for its medieval architecture and monasteries. AFP
