A massive fire broke out early today at a massive online shopping warehouse in St. Petersburg that was being used as a location for recruiting migrant workers for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Panic ensued as more than a thousand employees fled the inferno at the Wildberries facility in Shushary district.
The massive fire dominated the skyline and was seen by passengers on planes taking off from St. Petersburg Airport.
Eyewitnesses said the disease spread rapidly in the 1,076,391-square-foot facility.
“Within 20 minutes there was no warehouse left,” one witness said.
Videos show the terror as workers try to leave the burning building of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace.
Terrifying scenes unfolded as more than 1,000 staff members fled the fire at the Wildberries facility early today. According to reports, a main exit was closed and people had to enter through a small door
A massive fire engulfed the Wildberries online shopping warehouse in St. Petersburg, using a site for recruiting migrant workers for Putin’s war in Ukraine
A thick cloud of smoke can be seen coming from the factory. The massive fire dominated the skyline and was seen by passengers on planes taking off from St. Petersburg Airport
Images also show the fire raging on the snow-covered terrain.
News company BAZA reported: ‘A large crowd could not get through the narrow doors during the fire in the warehouse on the market.
“According to the workers, they didn’t know where to run when the fire broke out, so they ran around the warehouse in horror.
“There were so many people that they were still descending from the third floor, even though the fire was already approaching the first floor.”
Wildberries said in a statement that all staff had been evacuated. It was reported that no one was injured.
Nearly 300 firefighters and dozens of fire trucks, as well as helicopters, fought to extinguish the blaze, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
The fire brigade got the fire under control, but was still extinguishing it.
Total damage from the fire, which started at 7.42am local time, including lost supplies, could reach £98 million, it was reported.
According to employees, the fire suppression system was not working when the fire started flaring up in shelves of household chemicals.
Reports say there were at least 1,200 people in the warehouse, and there were hectic scenes as a main exit was closed and people were forced through a small door.
A video taken from a moving vehicle on the road shows huge flames spreading across the factory. The fire sent factory workers into panic as they desperately tried to escape the building
Scenes of panic as a crowd gathers in a hallway and tries to leave the building. According to reports, the main exit was closed and people had to enter through a small door
The fire rages at the car factory parked on a snow-covered lot in St. Petersburg
A fierce fire lights up the sky after the factory goes up in flames
There have been several false fire alarms in recent days and staff initially suspected this was the case today.
Arson or sabotage is suspected at the sprawling £27 million warehouse, where many employees are migrant workers from the former Central Asian Soviet republics, who military recruiters dragged into the war, often under threat to be detained or returned to their home country for immigration violations.
According to reports, police and the Russian National Guard have carried out raids on the warehouse over the past two days.
During a raid, a water pipe burst in a suspected sabotage attack.
A ‘large-scale fight’ broke out in the warehouse between ethnic groups who worked there.
A 33-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan and a 35-year-old citizen of Tajikistan were taken to hospital with stab wounds.
The fire broke out in racks of household chemicals located on the sixth floor of the warehouse.
At the time, a shift change was taking place at the massive facility.
Apocalyptic scenes as smoke from the fire dominates the skyline above St. Petersburg. Workers could be seen frantically trying to leave the building via the stairwell
The fire is at full strength in the warehouse in Saint Petersburg
A thick cloud of smoke can be seen above the St. Petersburg skyline
Today’s inferno was assigned the maximum fifth level of complexity.
It is the latest in a wave of fires and explosions during Putin’s war with Ukraine.
Some have been caused by missiles and drones, but others have been caused by sabotage attacks.
A criminal investigation into today’s major fire in Saint Petersburg is underway.
Online customers will get refunds for lost orders, the company said.
More than 400 rescue workers and 89 pieces of special equipment were deployed to the scene.
Ukrainian adviser to the Ministry of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko wrote: ‘The fire could have broken out as a result of deliberate arson in revenge for the raids by security forces the day before.
“They were looking for illegal migrants and army evaders.”
However, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said preliminary data showed the cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring.