Two killed as blast rocks Russian shopping centre

A BLAST ripped through a five-storey shopping centre in the south-western Russian city of Ufa yesterday, starting a fire that killed two people and injured at least five.

Shoppers were evacuated and dozens of firefighting teams tackled the blaze at the huge Europa complex, which houses stores, restaurants and night clubs in the largest city in Russia's Bashkiria region, which has a large Muslim population.

The mall had been packed full of people out for a Saturday afternoon's shopping. TV images showed the building engulfed in flames, with plumes of smoke rising above the blaze.

The bodies of two people were found after firefighters searched the building.

"One is a man whose identity is being determined. Earlier, the body of a girl was found, who was born in 1993," Maksim Rodionov, a spokesman for the regional ministry of internal affairs, told Interfax news agency.

Five people were injured in the fire, three of whom were treated in hospital, Oleg Zugeyev, spokesman of the regional emergencies ministry, told news agency RIA.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear, but Zugeyev said the fire was believed to have started in a room reserved for waterpipes located on the third floor.

The fire in the shopping centre started at about 3.30pm local time, officials say.

"Some witnesses heard a bang, and then the fire started," Zugeyev was quoted as saying by Russia's Itar-Tass news agency.

Ufa is the capital and the administrative, political, economic, scientific and cultural centre of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan and is one of the largest cities in Russia.

The majority of its Muslim population are Sunnis, and the city is the seat of the Mufti Central Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Russia. The region is also an important centre of oil production.