A massive fire has destroyed a huge warehouse of Russia’s largest online retailer south of St. Petersburg. Firefighters extinguished the last fires on Sunday, the Russian Civil Protection Agency announced. According to its own information, the judiciary began investigating those responsible for fire protection at the logistics center, which, with an area of 100,000 square meters, was about the size of 14 football fields.
The fire broke out Saturday morning and destroyed about three-quarters of the building. The roof collapsed on 50,000 square meters.
1,200 employees fled into the icy frost
The approximately 1,200 employees in the building fled into the icy frost in light work clothes. According to official information, there were no deaths or injuries.
Airline passengers filmed a cloud of smoke
Videos on the Internet showed thick columns of gray smoke darkening the sky in southern St. Petersburg. Passengers filmed the smoke from planes shortly before landing in St. Petersburg.
Damage in the millions
According to initial estimates by experts, the damage to the well-known Russian online mail order company Wildberries, owner of the warehouse, could amount to 20 billion rubles (210 million euros). There was no official information about the cause of the fire. A cable fire is considered a possibility, Tass news agency reported.
The St. Petersburg Building Inspectorate announced that the warehouse had a building permit. However, approval for commissioning was lacking. Wildberries denied this.
According to local media reports, many migrant workers from former Soviet republics worked in the logistics center.
Source: Krone
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