ASTANA, November 9 (RIA Novosti) - Sixteen people died on Monday in a warehouse fire in the Kazakh capital, Astana, the country's emergencies ministry said.

The fire broke out at a plastic foam warehouse in the east of the city at about 5 p.m. (11:00 GMT).

"The current death toll is 16 people and one person is injured," a ministry spokesman told RIA Novosti, adding that the fire had covered a large area and the search was continuing.

He also said the cause of the fire had not been determined.