Reporting on this is yet vague. Khimki is a city with about a population of about quarter-million. It is located 11 miles northwest of Moscow. Both Reuters and Al Jazeera report that "Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was looking into the cause of the fire. The head of the Moscow region’s emergency services agency said it appeared the blaze was the result of safety regulations being violated during repair work on the building."
In #Khimki, #Moscow region, #Russia, there is a large scale fire happening this morning at the Mega shopping mall:
— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) December 9, 2022
pic.twitter.com/jRvyKu26Xl
Reuters and Al Jazeera also report that "a worker told TASS news agency a short circuit might have caused the fire, followed by an explosion that caused the flames to spread."
Al Jazeera, however, adds this: "Russian news agencies had earlier reported that emergency services were considering 'arson' as a possible cause."
Neither the NY Times, London Times nor Washington Post has yet to report on the fire.