A huge fire has ripped through a major shopping complex on the edge of Moscow killing at least one person, Russia\u2019s Emergencies Ministry has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Video of the blaze showed explosions at the massive Mega Khimki mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arson is being investigated as a possible cause of the fire, but an electrical fault is thought to be a more likely trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The centre had housed major Western retail outlets, until they pulled out after February\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fire spread across the roof of the OBI superstore at the complex early on Thursday morning, and at one point covered 18,000 sq m (194,000 sq ft).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By around 08:30 Moscow time (05:30 GMT) firefighters quoted by Russian media said it had been contained to an area of 7,000 sq m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two hours later, an Emergencies Ministry official said what he described as the \u201copen fire\u201d had been put out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least one explosion at OBI, which sells home and garden improvement wares, caused the structure to start collapsing, firefighters said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blasts are thought to have been caused by exploding aerosols and paint tins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the incident. Losses from the fire have been estimated at $320m-$480m (\u00a3261m-\u00a3390m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The German hardware chain OBI no longer owns the store, having sold all its Russian outlets \u2013 including 27 superstores \u2013 over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 60% stake was bought by Russian-born German-Israeli businessman Josef Liokumovich for just $10 (\u00a38).<\/p>\n\n\n\n