At least five people are confirmed dead and up to 25 people are missing and feared dead after a fire engulfed a shopping center in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday.

Authorities said the fire broke out in the first-floor café of the Admiral Center --- one of Kazan's biggest shopping arcades. More than 600 people were immediately evacuated from the building. 

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Forty people were said to have sustained injuries when part of the roof near the building entrance collapsed. There are no reports on whether the injuries were minor or life-threatening. 

"There are about 25 people who we can't get in touch with," said Igor Panshin, head of the Volga regional emergency center. "We've had many calls about it on our hot line."

Establishment owners who crossed police security barricades in a bid to save their goods are believed to be among those trapped. But officials say there is a slim chance that those trapped will survive. 

The cause of the fire is still being investigated. Black smoke almost covered the city of Kazan some 800 kilometers east of Moscow.

Witnesses say, it took some time before firefighters were able to respond to the scene. A security guard initially tried to extinguish the fire, but to no avail.

An area about 4,000 square meters was already burned to the ground when fire officials declared a fire out.

Five hundred riot police were deployed around the shopping center to prevent people from entering the building. 

Tagsfire, Kazan, Russia, shopping center