Millions in festive season stock go up in flames at China mall in Durban

The extent of the fire which gutted parts of the Springfield Park China Mall building in Durban on Tuesday night is likely to run into millions of rand.

Smoke hung thick in the air surrounding the mall, which was also undergoing construction to increase capacity by two floors.

A security company contracted to guard the premises prevented members of the public as well as employees from making their way into the mall as eThekwini fire and rescue personnel together with metro police inspected the premises.

A fire department official who spoke to TimesLIVE on condition of anonymity said: “It is really bad. We are still going to take some time to investigate.”

The fireman said the fire is believed to have started shortly before midnight on Tuesday, contrary to earlier reports that the building caught alight at about 1am on Wednesday.

“We would only know at the later stage as to what was the cause of the fire,” said the official.

No fatalities and injuries have yet been reported.

Employees of the various shops in the mall said when they reported for duty they were barred from entering the mall.

“We have been standing here for some time. Our employers have told us to stick around here so that we can inform our clients that we are not open for business,” said one worker.

Some of the workers who arrived before security restricted entry said they had managed to sneak a look inside.

“We tried to salvage some of our resources. But I won’t lie, it’s bad,” said the worker, adding that millions of rand in stock for the festive season had gone up in flames.

eThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the city’s fire and emergency personnel who responded to the incident managed to contain the fire that was spreading rapidly into the mall.

“The fire and emergency services managed to save more than 50% of the building. A full sweep and search was done to ensure that no one was in the building,” she said.

After the fire was extinguished, affected areas were barricaded to prevent access for safety reasons.

Sisilana added that the cause of the fire was unknown at this stage, but investigations were under way. She confirmed there were no injuries or fatalities.

TimesLIVE