Initial Russian reports said that authorities reported 13 people had been killed, while state news agency Interfax and the Associated Press later reported that the death toll had risen to 15.

The blaze at the Polygon venue in the city, located around 210 miles north of Moscow, started after someone was believed to have discharged a flare gun during a dispute which ignited decorations on the ceiling, according to local authorities.

“The main version being considered is the illegal use of pyrotechnics,” which may have been used in “excessive self-defense,” an emergency services source told Interfax.

Videos shared on social media showed large plumes of smoke over the venue, with firefighters attempting to control the blaze.

Rescuers managed to evacuate 250 people from the venue, whose roof collapsed. The fire spread over an area of 3.5 thousand square meters (3,700 sq ft) and was extinguished at around 7.30 a.m local time. The club located on Nikitskaya street was completely destroyed, local reports said.

A criminal investigation has been launched under Article 109 of Russia’s Criminal Code involving the death by negligence of two or more people.

Police are still searching for the person who used the gun, Tass reported and a team from Russia’s regional investigative committee is working with eyewitnesses and inspecting the scene.

On his Telegram channel, regional governor Sergei Sitnikov expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims who he said were being provided with assistance.

Newsweek has contacted the Kostroma regional emergency situations ministry for comment.

A number of other deadly fires have taken place throughout Russia in recent years, which are often attributed to the lax enforcement of fire safety regulations.

In 2009, more than 150 people were killed after pyrotechnics were set off at a nightclub in the city of Perm. The blaze at the Lame Horse venue started after sparks from the fireworks ignited the ceiling and quickly spread to the walls.

In 2015, a fire caused the collapse of a shopping center in the Tatarstan capital of Kazan, killing at least 17 people and injuring 55. In March 2018, a fire engulfed a shopping mall and entertainment complex in the city of Kemerovo which killed at least 60 people, more than half of whom were children.

Update 11/05/22, 4.45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.