Fire rips through crowded Russian cafe, over 100 killed
The blaze occurred during a firework show late on Friday, apparently due to a breach of fire safety rules. The cafe burned out almost completely with fire spreading to the area of 400 square meters.
Casualty reports vary. The official death toll by the Russian emergencies ministry stands at 102, though some media say up to 112 people were killed.
A spokesman for Russia's health and social development ministry said on Saturday 134 people were taken to hospital following the deadly blaze.
Police is looking into numerous versions of a cafe blast, though bomb experts of the local Federal Security Service (FSB) department found no traces of explosive devices.
The region's health minister, Dmitry Trishkin, said local hospitals had enough blood and plasma for transfusion, at least for 24 hours.
Russia's emergencies minister, Sergei Shoigu, health minister, Tatyana Golikova, and interior minister, Rashid Nurgaliyev, arrived at the city early on Saturday. They are currently visiting the seven hospitals, where the injured had been taken, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.