A significant fire broke out Sunday morning in an enormous shopping complex within the Polish capital that housed some 1,400 shops and repair outlets and where lots of the vendors were from Vietnam.
Huge plumes of black smoke might be seen rising over the vast area. The fire department said that greater than 80% of the Marywilska 44 shopping complex burned within the Bialoleka district of Warsaw, and that the roof caved in.
Police reported no injuries, but traders were in despair on the lack of their livelihoods. The Gazeta Wyborcza every day reported that some Vietnamese vendors desired to enter to avoid wasting their goods from the complex, but were blocked by security guards.
The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Poland said the blaze meant “great financial losses for merchants,” calling it a “terrible tragedy for hundreds of merchants and their families.”
Chemical and environmental rescue specialists were amongst the big numbers of rescue officials who took part within the operation. Authorities sent a text message warning Warsaw residents in regards to the fire, and telling them to remain home with the windows closed.
Mirbud, an industrial construction company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, owns the shopping mall.
Warsaw police said it had begun investigating the blaze, which began at around 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT), but hadn’t yet determined the cause.
The Warsaw city administration planned on Monday to debate financial support for the small traders whose livelihoods were destroyed.
Shopping centers and huge shops are frequently 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 lots of the small shops at the middle worked on Sundays.
