At least four people were killed in a fire that broke out at a shopping center in the city of Sterlitamak in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, emergency services told state news agencies on Tuesday afternoon.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said the blaze erupted at the Solnechny shopping center at around noon local time and spread across 2,100 square meters (22,600 square feet) before firefighters contained it by 2 p.m.
It said emergency crews rescued 17 people from the building, including a child.
Sterlitamak is located 1,150 kilometers (715 miles) east of Moscow.
Videos and photos shared online showed smoke and flames billowing from the four-story brick building. One video showed a person jumping from the building onto a crowd below to escape the fire.
Regional health officials said four people were hospitalized for injuries, including three women and a 16-year-old girl. One of the women remains in critical condition, they added.
A short circuit is suspected as the preliminary cause of the fire, sources told the news agency RIA Novosti.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top investigative body, said it opened a criminal probe into negligence resulting in death
