At least four people were killed and ten people were wounded with burn injuries after a hot water pipe burst at the Vremena Goda mall in Moscow, said Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
As the situation unfolded, the Moscow Mayor had earlier reported a single fatality. "The tragedy in the shopping center has claimed the lives of three more people. My condolences to their families and friends," he later said in a Telegram post.
"Ten people suffered burns. Nine of them were hospitalized and one was sent for outpatient treatment," health services later told the TASS news agency.
Meanwhile, the Russian Investigative Committee opened up a criminal case over the pipe burst incident in the Moscow mall, announced Yulia Ivanova, spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee’s Moscow department.
"A criminal case has been opened on the grounds of a crime under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (negligence in providing services that resulted in two or more deaths)," she said.
The Vremena Goda mall opened in 2007 and comprises of more than 150 stores.
ALSO READ | Russia-Ukraine war: 8 civilians killed as Russian strikes target 11 Ukrainian areas as clashes turn fierce