2024-05-12 23:40:17
Huge plumes of black smoke rose above the vast area. Firefighters said more than 80 percent of the Marywilska 44 shopping complex, located in Warsaw’s Bialoleka district, had burned and the roof had collapsed.
Police reported no injuries, but shopkeepers were in despair at having lost their livelihoods. Daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported that some Vietnamese sellers wanted to enter to save their goods from the complex, but were blocked by security officers.
The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Poland said the fire caused “significant financial losses for traders,” calling it a “terrible tragedy for thousands of traders and their families.”
Chemical and environmental rescue specialists were among the many rescue officials who took part in the operation. Authorities sent a text message warning Warsaw residents about the fire and asking them to stay at home with their windows closed.
Mirbud, an industrial construction company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, owns the shopping center.
Warsaw police said they had begun investigating the fire, which broke out around 3:30 a.m. local time, but had not yet determined the cause.
Warsaw’s city administration plans to discuss financial aid for small traders whose livelihoods have been destroyed on Monday.
Shopping centers and department stores are usually closed on Sundays due to the trade ban imposed by the previous government, which had close ties to the Catholic Church. However, small traders are exempt from this ban and many small shops in the center work on Sundays.
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