Moscow:  At least 52 people died when a fire burned through a shopping mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on Sunday, Russian authorities said.

Many of the victims were children, and many people were still missing after the blaze in the industrial city of about half a million people, over 3200 kilometres east of Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported. The missing had little chance of survival, it said, citing a source in the rescue team.

The fire started around 5 pm on the fourth floor of the mall, which includes a three-screen cinema complex, a skating rink and an entertainment centre for children.

Speaking to the relatives of the missing, Vladimir Chernov, a deputy governor of the Kemerovo region, said the fire had started in the children's entertainment room, where there was a trampoline with foam rubber.