At least 37 people were killed in a massive fire that engulfed Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping mall in Kemerovo in Siberia on Sunday. Dozens more people and children are missing, according to Russian media.

The fire started on the fourth floor and consumed an area of about 1,600 square meters. It is yet to be ascertained as to what caused the fire. An investigation has been launched by the Russian authorities. Many of the victims were caught in a cinema and videos posted on social media showed people jumping from windows to escape the flames on Sunday.

According to first deputy governor of the Kemerovo region Vladimir Chernov, 13 bodies were found in one of the movie halls which suggested they had been trapped when the roof caved in. Earlier, there were reports that 69 people, including 40 children went missing after the blaze broke out in the mall, a spokesman for the firefighting operation's headquarters who was quoted by TASS as saying.

The fire is believed to have started around 17:00 (10:00 GMT) in a part of the building that contains the entertainment complex, local media report.

The Zimnyaya Vishnya mall opened in 2013 with an overall area of 23,000 square meters. It has a parking lot for 250 cars, shopping centres, a bowling club, a children's centre, a cinema, and a petting zoo. More than 200 animals at the petting zoo were also killed in the blaze.

Kemerovo, a key coal-producing area, lies about 3,600km east of Moscow.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2018 06:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).