A security guard was killed on Friday in a massive blaze the size of a football pitch which broke out overnight in a shopping center in a Moscow suburb, TASS reported.
Sergey Poletykin, the head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s department for the Moscow Region, said: "Unfortunately, one was killed [in the fire]. Work is underway to liquidate the fire.”
Poletykin highlighted that the first firefighting squads arrived at the scene of the incident four minutes after a fire alarm was triggered. A total of 141 firefighters and 47 fire engines were involved in efforts to stamp out the fire that has so far been contained at 7,000 square meters.
The blaze broke out at the Mega Khimki shopping center in Moscow’s northern suburb of Khimki.
Russian news agencies quoted sources in emergency services saying “arson” was suspected as a possible cause of the blaze.
“Deliberate acts, as in arson, is being considered,” the Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying.
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