Moscow Shopping Center On Fire, About 3,000 People Evacuated

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the Sindika shopping center on the outskirts of Moscow.

Russian authorities say about 3,000 people were evacuated from a shopping center on the outskirts of the capital, Moscow, after a fire broke out in the basement.

Flames spread from a storage room in the basement of the Sindika shopping center, which specializes in building supplies, with 55,000 square meters of the site ablaze, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said on October 8.

Structures have collapsed on an area of at least 300 square meters inside the building, Russian news agencies reported.

One person was reportedly hospitalized.

About 100 firefighters were deployed to the site in the Moscow region's Odintsovo district, along with three helicopters.

The Sindika shopping center has a commercial area of more than 130,000 square meters and houses 1,200 shops.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax