Four people were killed in a fire that broke out in a pub in the Russian Volga city of Kazan in the early hours of Sunday, a local emergencies services spokesman said.
The fire was reported at 04:47 a.m. local time (01:47 GMT) at Kazan's Leprikon pub, the spokesman said. Rescuers had evacuated seven people from the pub, he said.
The blaze was reportedly put out in an hour. A discarded cigarette is believed to have started the fire.
Russia has an extremely poor fire safety record. Around 15,000 people die in fires across the country annually. In the United States, with more than twice the population, the figure is around 3,400 deaths a year.
In December 2009, 150 people died when a fire, the worst in modern Russia's history, broke out in a night club in the Russian Urals city of Perm.
KAZAN, January 30 (RIA Novosti)
