Firefighter killed tackling blaze in St Petersburg

The blaze spread across all four of the building’s floors and was raging in an area of 10,000 square metres, officials said.

Published Apr 12, 2021

Smoke and flames rise from a building in St Petersburg, Russia

A major fire has engulfed a business centre in St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, killing a firefighter and injuring two others.

The blaze spread across all four of the building’s floors and was raging in an area of 10,000 square metres (more than 100,000 square feet), emergency officials said.

People look at smoke and flames rising from the Nevskaya Manufaktura textile factory founded by English merchant J Thornton in 1841, in St Petersburg, Russia — The blaze in St Petersburg (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

Around 300 people were involved in battling the fire, authorities said.

One firefighter died and two others were admitted to hospital with injuries, according to the Russian Emergency Ministry.

Forty people have been evacuated from the building, the Interfax news agency reported.

Smoke and flames rise from the Nevskaya Manufaktura textile factory, founded by English merchant J Thornton in 1841, in St Petersburg, Russia — Smoke and flames rise from the building (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, and an investigation was launched.

The Interfax news agency reported that the building where the business centre was located was erected in the 19th century, and its decrepit state made it harder for firefighters to tackle the blaze.