After 48 hours and with several crews of firefighters who worked tirelessly to control the fire that broke out at dawn on Saturday in the Punta Shopping in Punta del Este, confirmed that the fire is under control. Walls collapsed and part of the roof collapsed. “The fire in Punta Shopping was controlled, but Work continues to fully extinguish the fire.“, reported the National Directorate of Firefighters in a brief statement.
However, little more than 40 firefighters They continue to work on the site in removal and cooling tasks, according to the newspaper The Country of Uruguay.
Until now, no injuries were reported and they continue to work in the area, in addition to the firefighters of Punta del Este, troops from the detachments of Aiguá, Montevideo, Pan de Azúcar, Parque del Plata and Santa Teresa.
Punta del Este: the exact area of the mall where the fire took a long time to give up. Photo: The Country
“Right now the fire is controlled“, said Ricardo Riaño, director of Firefighters after carrying out a survey of the affected area this morning. “The affected area is relatively cold. There are hot spots, but they are very specific sectors,” he assured.
The Uruguayan newspaper pointed out that “The flames spread throughout the basement and also on the ground floor. Part of the ceiling and walls have collapsed”.
The fire started at 4 a.m. on Saturday and 12 hours later the advance of the flames in the subsoil had been stopped, stopping the spread to the rest of the mall. However, this morning the fire flared up and only around noon could it be controlled again.
The flames spread throughout the subsoil and at ground floor level, causing landslides and damage of more than 80% of the structure of the entire building, published El Observador.
Despite the fact that several firefighters are working, the fire does not stop in the Punta del Este shopping mall. Photo: AFP.
According to the latest reports provided by the firefighters, the smoke and gases from the initial fire would have spread through the building’s air ducts, “aggravating the structural situation of the same”.
“There are two fire attack points inside the mall, one in front of the premises (on Roosevelt Avenue) and another on the opposite side on the parking lot between San Francisco and Pascual Gattas streets,” they pointed out.
The fire department statement stated that the flames also affected some vehicles located in the basement of the mall.
“We managed to control the spread in the mall,” said the fire chief, who pointed out that the fire is “practically no presence of flames“, he detailed.
Although there are “hot spots within the burned area, we are working on removing and cooling the entire internal sector.” These tasks, he estimates, will take “one more day of work to consider this area of the mall extinct,” she explained.
Regarding the destroyed areas of the mall, the Fire Chief assessed that “a very good percentage of the south wing was saved”, as well as the casino and “many premises on the second floor, first floor”.
The most complex situation now is that of the Tienda Inglesa premises, where, although the flames are controlled, the entire upper part” of the supermarket is “at risk of structural collapse” which “can domino effect sweep all the material from above towards the warehouse “. This because he pointed out that the slab “is damaged.”
The shopping statement
After the explosion unleashed during the early hours of Saturday, the mall issued an official statement.
“Since early Saturday morning, the firefighters continue to work incessantly. We appreciate the hard work of all of them. The shopping will remain closed until further notice, we will keep you informed. Thanks again for the love and support.”
Enrique Antía, mayor of the Department of Maldonado, indicated that “the mall has about 2,000 jobs distributed in almost 200 businesses that now, with this incident, were put on hold.”
“This is a disgrace for many people who worked there. A very bad moment for Maldonado, without a doubt,” the Uruguayan official remarked.
The sinister in the shopping of Punta del Este
The fire started around 4am on a Saturday morning in the supermarket bakery English store located in Punta Shopping, after the explosion of one of the ovens of the traditional bakery located in the shopping center.
The explosion caused the immediate fire and the collapse of a part of the building.
The work of several fire departments brought the fire under control on Sunday, but in the last few hours, the flames flared up inside the building, taking a large part of it and causing new collapses in the place.