A cafe owner in northern Kazakhstan is under arrest for alleged negligence after a gas explosion and fire that killed nine people.

The explosion occurred at the Plov Center cafe in the town of Shchuchinsk in Akmola region, outside the capital Astana, early on February 27, killing seven people, including six cafe workers and the 16-year-old daughter of one of the employees, city officials said. Two injured people later died, according to the city. It attributed the death toll to the regional health department.

More than two dozen people were injured, and about half of them were hospitalized, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The café is attached to a five-story residential building. The owner was arrested on Monday for suspected violation of fire safety regulations.

After the disaster, workers from the emergency situations ministry conducted fire safety checks at cafes, restaurants and dormitories in northern Kazakhstan. They checked that gas cylinders were correctly positioned, fire extinguishers were on hand and evacuation routes were accessible.

The ministry is leading a high-level investigation of the causes and circumstances of the gas explosion.