Major fire damages second Russian shopping centre in four days

A fire the size of a football pitch has caused untold damage to a shopping centre near Moscow - just four days after a major blaze damaged a second in the region.

Images posted on Telegram by Russia‘s emergencies ministry showed that the fire at a construction supplies centre in Balashikha had caused part of the roof to collapse, with smoke billowing into the air.

The fire in the satellite town of 500,000 people on the outskirts of the Russian capital grew to 9,000 sq m (100,000 sq feet) before eventually being brough under control, the ministry said in a statement.

A probe into the cause of the inferno has since been launched by the Investigative Committee, which is responsible for serious crimes.

A guard was taken to hospital after inhaling toxic fumes from the fire.

Fire crews managed to contain it to an area of about 97,000 square feet (9,000 square metres) and prevent it from engulfing the entire complex.

Officials said the blaze was caused by a short circuit that came amid heavy rain in Moscow.

It followed a fire on Friday that destroyed the huge OBI construction materials store, part of the Mega shopping mall in Khimki on the Russian capital’s north-western outskirts.

Officials said the blaze, in which a security guard was killed, was sparked by welding that apparently violated safety regulations.

The huge blaze erupted before the mall opened it’s doors to customers, engulfing the entire building of 17,000 square meters (183,000 square feet).