Burst pipe kills four at mall in Moscow – mayor

Four people have died in a “major accident” at a large shopping mall in western Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Saturday. Dozens are injured, many of whom “suffered burns,” he added.

The disaster at the Seasons mall was caused by a burst pipe, the mayor said. According to local media, boiling water flooded a section of the mall, injuring at least 70 people and trapping around 20 others.

Later, a medical official told TASS that at least ten people had suffered burns in the incident, nine of whom were subsequently hospitalized.

According to the news outlet Life, the pipe ruptured in a store's non-retail area. The incident resulted in a nearby public area and a stairway being flooded with boiling water and hot steam.

The Telegram channel SHOT published a short video purportedly filmed at the scene, appearing to show a hole in a wall above a stairway.

Another video, also published by SHOT, showed medics treating injured customers and mall staff at the scene, with hot steam coming out of the building’s doors.

The rupture affected the shopping mall’s hot water network, TASS news agency reported, citing a source within the city’s heating provider, MOEK. All those killed were staff at a food store, the agency added.

The exact reason the pipe burst is currently unclear. Emergency services are working at the scene, Sobyanin said. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the deadly incident.

Built in 2007, the six-story shopping mall occupies an area of 62,000 square meters and hosts over 150 shops and boutiques.