Kostroma Café Fire
Incident
At around 2:00 in the morning, a fire was reported at the Poligon café in Kostroma, prompting more than 50 firefighters to extinguish the fire using more than 20 fire engines. According to witnesses and governor Sergey Sitnikov, a drunk man who was courting with a woman, ordered her flowers and fired a flare gun in the dance floor. The subsequent fire spread through more than 3,500 square meters and caused the building's roof to collapse. The inside of the building was almost completely destroyed. Thirteen bodies were initially found, but the remains of two people were discovered later.
Investigation
Immediately after the fire, police opened a criminal investigation into the cause of the fire and police searched for the man who fired the flare gun. The man was later arrested and a case for "causing death by negligence" was opened against him.
Suspect and other arrests
Police arrested 23-year-old reservist soldier Stanislav Ionkin, who had just returned from his service in the invasion of Ukraine. State-run media later reported that the suspect had admitted to the charges. A relative said that he had been sent back to Russia from Ukraine after being wounded in action.
On 11 November 2022, a court in Moscow ordered the arrest of the owner of the café and the company which managed Poligon. They were both identified as Ikhtiyar Mirzoev and Natalya Belenogova, respectively.
Reactions
Immediate reactions came from Sergey Sitnikov, governor of Kostroma Oblast, who offered condolences on his Telegram channel to the victims' families and friends and said that they were being provided with assistance.
References
- ^ "Запущенная петарда и давка при эвакуации. Что известно о пожаре в кафе "Полигон" в Костроме". 360tv.ru (in Russian). 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Man detained as fire kills 15 people at bar in Russian city of Kostroma". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Fire kills 15 at bar in Russian city of Kostroma". France 24. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Пожар в клубе "Полигон" в Костроме: 13 погибших, задержаны двое подозреваемых". BBC News (in Russian). 5 November 2022.
- ^ Zalesskaya, Daria (7 November 2022). "Предполагаемый виновник пожара в костромском кафе "Полигон" Читайте на". kostroma.kp.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "15 Killed in Russia Cafe Blaze After Flare Gun Discharged". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "При пожаре в костромском кафе "Полигон" погибли 15 человек". РБК (in Russian). Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ AFP (5 November 2022). "15 Killed, 250 Evacuated In Russian Cafe Fire: Report". NDTV. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Russia: Several dead in Kostroma nightclub fire". DW. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "15 killed in Russia cafe blaze after flare gun discharged". Irvine Times. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Russia detains suspect over deadly bar inferno". France 24. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Суд арестовал владельца костромского кафе, при пожаре в котором погибли 13 человек". Meduza (in Russian). 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Russian night club fire kills 13 people". NHK Japan. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ Cole, Brendan (5 November 2022). "Russian Nightclub Fire Kills 13 After Flare Gun Fired During Dispute". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 November 2022.