Giant plumes of fire illuminated the evening skies over the city of Ryazan, about 200km southeast of Moscow, as the local M5 Mall erupted in flames. The blaze quickly engulfed the building’s roof, sending billowing clouds of smoke into the air.

Videos published on social media show the scale of the inferno. Nearly 60 fire fighters were deployed to tackle the fire that covered an area of 500 square meters.

Even before the arrival of the emergency services, the center’s security staff had managed to get some 1,200 people out of burning building, the acting head of the regional emergency services department, Aleksandr Savukov, confirmed to Russia’s TASS news agency. There are no reports of any casualties so far.

The Shopping center’s roof and a façade partially collapsed because of the blaze, video uploaded to social media show the moment it happened.