April 4 (UPI) — One person is dead after a fire broke out in the Perseus for Children shopping mall in Moscow on Wednesday.
A male victim died in an ambulance after he was evacuated from the burning facility. He was reportedly an employee who was confused about the direction of the blaze and moved to a smoky zone instead of the evacuation exit.
Nearly 600 people were evacuated from the mall, with around 20 rescued by firefighters.
Three firefighters were injured in the fire, Ilya Denisov, head of the Main Directorate for Moscow at the Emergencies Ministry, said.
The mall’s evacuation systems, smoke protection, automatic fire extinguishing and personnel were in good working condition at the time of the blaze, the Emergency Ministry added.
The fire reportedly broke out in a toy stockroom on the third floor of the building and spread to the roof. Russian investigators say they are opening a criminal probe into the fire.
The latest shopping center blaze follows a deadly fire last week at the Zimnyaya Vishnya mall — also known as the Winter Cherry mall — in the Siberian city of Kemerovo killed at least 60 people. Children were among the casualties.
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