World News | A Fire Burns Down Almost an Entire Shopping Complex Housing 1,400 Outlets in Poland's Capital
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A massive fire broke out Sunday morning in a vast shopping complex in the Polish capital that housed some 1,400 shops and service outlets and where many of the vendors were from Vietnam.
Warsaw, May 12 (AP) A massive fire broke out Sunday morning in a vast shopping complex in the Polish capital that housed some 1,400 shops and service outlets and where many of the vendors were from Vietnam.
Huge plumes of black smoke could be seen rising over the vast area. The fire brigade said more than 80% of the Marywilska 44 shopping complex burned in the Bialoleka district of Warsaw, and that the roof fell in.
Police reported no injuries, but traders were in despair at the loss of their livelihoods. The Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported that some Vietnamese vendors wanted to enter to save their goods from the complex but were blocked by security guards.
The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Poland said the fire meant “great financial losses for merchants,” calling it a “terrible tragedy for thousands of merchants and their families.”
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Chemical and environmental rescue specialists were among the large numbers of rescue officials who took part in the operation. Authorities sent a text message warning Warsaw residents about the fire and telling them to stay home with the windows closed.
Mirbud, an industrial construction company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, owns the shopping centre.
Warsaw police said it had begun investigating the fire, which began at around 3:30 am local time (530GMT), but had not yet determined the cause.
The Warsaw city administration planned on Monday to discuss financial support for the small traders whose livelihoods we destroyed.
Shopping centres and large shops are usually closed on Sunday due to a ban on trade imposed by the previous government, which had close ties to the Catholic church. However, small business owners are exempt from the ban, and many of the small shops at the centre worked on Sundays. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)