Mar 1, 2022: According to a report by AFP, a nighttime fire at a shopping center in Syria’s capital, Damascus, has killed at least 11 people, the interior ministry said, adding that it was one of the deadliest in recent years.

Ahmed Abbas, director of civil defense, said most of those killed on Tuesday were security guards or staff who had been on night duty in the six-story building.

“Eleven people have died as a result of the fire in the La Mirada Mall, and two people have been rescued,” the interior ministry said.

“Investigations are under way to determine the cause of the blaze,” the ministry statement read.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

“Eleven people have died as a result of the fire in the La Mirada Mall, and two people have been rescued,” the interior ministry said.

According to the interior ministry, the fire caused “extensive material damage”, ripping through stores that sold clothes, leather goods and cosmetics – many of which were highly flammable. At least 20 fire engines helped douse the blaze, said Abbas, the director of civil defence.

Mohammad Aboulreesh, from the Hospital of Damascus, said they had received seven corpses that had been badly burned and were yet to be identified, according to the official SANA news agency.

Incidents of fire are reported frequently in the Syrian capital – some caused by electrical short-circuits, others by unsafe heating methods.

The fire comes a week after a blaze in a hospital in Syria’s second city of Aleppo killed three people, sparked by a short-circuit, according to the SANA news agency.

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