New Delhi: Russian firefighters are battling a fire the size of a football pitch at a shopping centre in a Moscow suburb, news agency AFP reported citing emergency services on Friday.
The blaze broke out overnight at the Mega Khimki shopping centre in the northern suburb of Khimki.
According to Russian Media RT, a massive fire erupted at a large shopping center on the outskirts of the Russian capital. It reported local officials as saying that the blaze broke out at a construction retailer and risks spreading to other departments and consuming the entire mega-complex.
Purported visuals of the incident surfaced on social media with media reports stating that large quantities of “paints, varnishes” and other flammables were stored inside the burning section of the mall.
ABP could not independently check the veracity of the videos.
In Moscow, the Mega Khimik shopping center is on fire. First, the roof caught fire. The area of the fire is about 7000 m², it has already been assigned 4 (out of five) difficulty level. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/o1nqMrYQlW
— Dmytro Report 🌻 (@thedimsol) December 9, 2022
BREAKING: A large building in Moscow, Russia is on fire.🔥 pic.twitter.com/wbUqAZ9gs0
— Colby Badhwar 🇨🇦🇬🇧 (@ColbyBadhwar) December 2, 2022
Emergency workers responded to reports of a blaze at the Mega Khimki mall located in Moscow region shortly after 6 am on Friday morning, the regional office of the Russian Emergencies Ministry informed, as per the report.
The fire has grown to an area of around 7,000 square meters by 7:30 am. At least 30 first responders are present at the site with nine pieces of equipment, the ministry informed, adding that the fire was rated as a four out of five in terms of intensity. As the flames spread, emergency workers announced plans to use a firefighting aircraft to help extinguish the blaze.
There are no reports of casualties, though the report mentioned local media as suggesting that people were inside the building at some point during the fire. As per RT Media, eyewitnesses said employees at the mall were evacuated from the complex immediately.
Denis Andreev, a Khimki city prosecutor, reportedly arrived at the site as the prosecutor’s office for the broader Moscow region said it would launch a probe into the incident and its cause.
