Russian shopping centre fire: At least 64 people killed after blaze at busy Winter Cherry mall in Siberia

Another 16 people still missing after cinema complex engulfed in flames in Kemerovo

At least 64 people have died after fire tore through a Russian shopping centre.

Fire exits were locked and a security guard had switched off the building's warning system, according to investigators.

Flames took hold in the four-storey Winter Cherry mall in Kemerovo, Siberia, at about 5pm local time on Sunday as parents and children enjoyed the first weekend of the school recess.

A further 10 people remain missing and some 41 children are feared to be among the dead, the BBC reported.

Witness testimony indicated that the fire alarm did not go off and that staff did not arrange for the building's evacuation.

Winter Cherry was converted from a former confectionery factory in 2013 and officials said they had found multiple serious violations in its construction and use.

The fire was extinguished in the morning after burning through the night. Parts of the building were still smouldering and the floors of the cinema hall had caved in in places, an emergency official said.

Television pictures showed people jumping from the windows of the mall, which was engulfed in black smoke.

The fire started in a part of the shopping centre that contained an entertainment complex and a cinema.

Some 200 animals are also believed to have died in the mall's petting zoo. The zoo's manager told the Tass news agency that the animals included rabbits, turtles, pigs, goats and rodents.

The exact cause of the blaze is not yet known but authorities have launched a criminal investigation.

Russian state investigators said four people had been detained over the fire, including the owners and leasers of outlets inside the shopping mall. The Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said it was trying to bring in the centre’s principal owner for questioning.

Kemerovo, a coal-mining centre in Siberia, is located 3,600 km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow.

The shopping centre opened in 2013 and also included a petting zoo, children’s center and bowling alley.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, elected to a new term last weekend, spoke by telephone with the governor of the Kemerovo region and with the head of the Emergencies Ministry.

The Russian president “expressed his deep condolences to the relatives and loved ones of those who died”, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Additional reporting by agencies