A fatal inferno swept through one of the largest shopping malls near Moscow in the early hours of this morning, leaving one person dead.
The massive blaze, which spread to the size of a football pitch, ripped through the Mega shopping centre in Khimki near the Russian capital.
Astonishing video shows the moment a huge explosion ripped through the building, causing an entire wall to collapse.
The force of the blast sent huge sections of the wall flying towards cars in the parking lot, as people were seen fleeing the chaotic scene in their vehicles.
The massive blaze, which spread to the size of a football pitch, ripped through the Mega shopping centre in Khimki near the Russian capital
A fatal inferno swept through the Mega shopping centre near Moscow in the early hours of this morning, leaving one person dead
Russia firefighters battle a massive blaze the size of a football pitch which broke out overnight at the Mega Khimki shopping and entertainment centre on Friday
The destroyed shopping mall, ravaged by a flaming inferno, is seen this morning as firefighters continue to battle the blaze
One person, identified by local media as Sergey Smurov, was killed in the blaze after he was trapped inside an annex.
The fire led to the collapse of part of the shopping mall, which complicated firefighters’ efforts to douse the fire.
Footage from the scene showed flames lighting up the sky and dark smoke billowing into the air, as scores of people fled the building into a parking lot.
Footage from the scene showed flames lighting up the sky and dark smoke billowing into the air, as scores of people fled the burning building into a parking lot
Scores of emergency vehicles arrived at the scene of the fire on Friday and worked to put out the fire, which spread to the size of a football pitch
More than 70 firefighters and 20 fire trucks were working to put out the fire, which spread over 7,000 square metres (75,300 square feet), emergency services said, adding that their work was hampered due to the design of the building.
‘Due to the collapse of the roof, the fire spread instantly to a large area,’ the Moscow region’s emergency services said on Telegram.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was looking into the cause of the fire.
Footage from the scene showed flames lighting up the sky and dark smoke billowing into the air
Russia firefighters battle the blaze at the Mega shopping mall on Friday morning
Daylight reveals the devastation caused by the fire at the shopping mall, as firefighters continue to try and douse the flames with water on Friday
The head of the Moscow region’s emergency services agency said it appeared the blaze was the result of safety regulations being violated during repair work.
Sources told local media that the fire had started in the home improvement OBI outlet, a German-based chain which closed soon after the war broke out in Ukraine.
A local man said: ‘Everything started burning from the roof, I do not know exactly where the ignition came from. The fire developed very quickly.
The fire led to the collapse of part of the shopping mall, which complicated firefighters’ efforts to douse the flames
The massive blaze, which spread to the size of a football pitch, ripped through the Mega shopping centre in Khimki near the Russian capital. The blaze could be seen miles away from the scene
Smoke rises into the air at the scene of a blaze which ripped through a shopping mall in the early hours of this morning, as firefighters battled to stop the flames
‘Literally five minutes later, the entire roof was already caught in flames.
‘And after ten minutes everything developed rapidly, the lower floor was already ablaze.’
Mega had been home to a large number of Western retail chains before the companies’ departure from Russia in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, including one of the first IKEA stores in the Moscow area.
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