A massive fire at a shoe warehouse in the Tepito district of Mexico City was finally extinguished in the early hours of Friday morning, after burning for more than 10 hours.
Around 500 people were evacuated during the blaze, which broke out at around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday and damaged more than 20 premises in Tepito’s Plaza Oasis building, near the City’s historic center.
Firefighters reported the fire was 90% controlled by 9.30 p.m. and fully put out by 2.30 a.m. on Friday morning.
No deaths or injuries were reported, but five firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation, according to a statement by the capital’s fire service on social media platform X.
At the peak of the blaze, flames and a pillar of smoke were visible several miles away, and more than 120 firefighters and 40 fire engines from six stations in Mexico City and neighboring México state were on the scene, according to Mexico City mayor Martí Batres.
While some vendors helped emergency services to clear the streets, others reportedly ran through security cordons while attempting to rescue their merchandise from the fire.
Although it is not yet known what sparked the inferno, one vendor told Reforma newspaper “it sounded like two very loud explosions and then a lot of smoke started coming out.”
The same media reported that firefighters had struggled to control the blaze on the third floor of the building, where highly flammable material was found.
Emergency services will investigate the cause of the explosions, Batres said.
