MOSCOW: According to local authorities, 15 people were killed in a fire in a cafe in the Russian city of Kostroma on Saturday, and five more were injured.

Fire officials said a flare gun was used during a dispute that caused the fire to erupt in the early hours of the morning.

Rescuers were able to evacuate 250 people. The governor of the Kostroma region, Sergei Sitnikov, said five people were slightly injured and received medical assistance.

The roof of the cafe collapsed during the fire.

A criminal investigation has been launched, and the police are searching for the person who used the flare gun.

Kostroma, a riverside city of 270,000, is located roughly 340 kilometres (210 miles) north of Moscow.

It wasn’t the first time that pyrotechnics caused a deadly fire at a recreational venue in Russia. In 2009, more than 150 people were killed in a blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in the city of Perm that erupted after someone set off fireworks.