The fire has been brought under control for the time being, but the extinguishing work continues. The cause of the fire is not certain.
Riikka Kajander,
Yrjö Kokkonen
A huge fire has been raging in the warehouse of Nettivataratalo Wildberries in the Pushkinsk district of St. Petersburg since the early hours of the morning.
The authorities in St. Petersburg have classified the fire as the largest, category 5. No one is known to have been injured in the fire. The company’s staff has been evacuated.
The fire has been brought under control for the time being, but the extinguishing work continues. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, almost 300 firefighters, dozens of fire engines and helicopters have been involved in the extinguishing work, the news agency Reuters reports.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown. According to the news agency AFP, fires are relatively common in Russia due to old infrastructure or safety deficiencies.
A Russian independent based in Latvia online magazine Meduza says that the fire was possibly started by the company’s staff.
According to Meduza, a fight had broken out between the company’s employees with a foreign background, which the police had been called to investigate. After this, the police had raided the company’s premises. According to unconfirmed information, the police had arrested people to take them to the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s richest woman Tatyana Bakalchukin owned company Wildberries is, according to AFP, one of the largest online stores in the country.