Authorities said the blaze at the OBI mall in Khimki outside the Russian capital 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).
Officials initially said arson may have been involved, but later said it was due to unsafe welding.
A probe into the possible violation of safety rules has been launched.Russian firefighters are trying to put out a massive blaze that engulfed one of the largest shopping centres in a suburb of the capital, Moscow, leading to the collapse of part of the structure and one reported death.
The fire early on Friday spread over an area of about 7,000 square metres (75,000 square feet) in the Mega Khimki shopping and entertainment centre, authorities said.
TASS news agency, citing the head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry Sergey Poletykin, reported that at least one person had been killed in the incident.
More than 70 firefighters and 20 fire trucks were working at the site, emergency services said. The work was hampered due to the design of the building, which is located about 7km (four miles) from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, they said.
“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. 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 on the building.
A worker told TASS a short circuit might have caused the fire, followed by an explosion that caused the flames to spread.
Russian news agencies had earlier reported that emergency services were considering “arson” as a possible cause.
Videos on social media showed a huge fire, with people fleeing the burning building into a parking lot.
Mega Khimki had been home to a large number of Western retail chains before the companies’ departure from Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war, including one of the first IKEA stores in the Moscow area.
