The blaze gutted the second floor of the building, which was not officially registered as a home for the elderly, but was out by the early hours when rescuers finished combing the rubble in Kemerovo city, state media and emergency services said.

Many homes for the elderly operate without authorisation in Russia, officials said, meaning they were considered private property and not subject to inspections.

RIA news agency, citing city authorities, said breaches of fire safety regulations could have been the cause of last night’s disaster in the city, 3,600km east of Moscow.

Kemerovo saw one of the deadliest fires in Russia of recent times when a blaze swept through the upper floors of the “Winter Cherry” shopping centre in 2018, killing 64 people.