A fire at a shopping centre in Russia has killed at least 5 people, with up to 25 more feared trapped under the rubble.<br /><br /> But as emergency crews battled the ferocious blaze in the city of Kazan, desperate traders were struggling to save their merchandise. <br /><br /> In extraordinary scenes, vendors were filmed braving the flames to salvage dozens of huge rolled-up rugs and carpets, throwing them into piles in front of the burning three-storey mall. <br /><br /> Fire crews took more than nine hours to bring the flames under control. At least 36 people were taken to hospital, some of them seriously injured.<br /><br /> Kazan is the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan region, some 800 kilometres east of Moscow.<br /><br /> An investigation is underway into the cause of the fire, which started in a first-floor cafe. Russian media reports suggest an electrical fault may have been to blame.
