Flames and thick smoke over the Le Vele shopping center in Desenzano on Lake Garda. © Facebook Enrico Bresciani
An inferno is causing horror on the southern shore of Lake Garda: there was a large fire in the Le Vele shopping center in Desenzano del Garda. There were no deaths or serious injuries.
Desenzano del Garda - During renovation work, the Le Vele shopping center in Desenzano on Lake Garda in Italy caught fire on Tuesday afternoon. According to the investigations so far, the fire broke out in a warehouse of a former Obi market, which is currently being rebuilt and expanded. The flames then approached the shops in the mall.
Exploded gas cylinder triggers fire in Italy
According to bresciatoday, the fire was caused by a gas cylinder that was used to process tar. Eyewitnesses report an explosion, a cartridge hit an apartment building in the neighborhood. Within a few minutes, thousands of square meters of the shopping center were robbed of the flames, which will remain closed until further notice. The damage is estimated at several million euros.
The Le Vele shopping centre in Desenzano on Lake Garda is burnt © out Stefano Desenzano Facebook
Difficult firefighting work on Lake Garda
Over 100 firefighters were deployed to contain the fire. Fighting the flames was difficult due to the extent of the terrain, several fire brigade ladders were necessary to stop the fire front from above and below.
The operation of the firefighters lasted all night and dragged on through Wednesday. Again and again, embers flared up, the fire brigade had to clear away roofs and cladding to get to the sources of the fire.
Only one firefighter slightly injured
Miraculously, only one firefighter (40) was slightly injured, he came to the hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.
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The clouds of smoke that rose from the complex were enormous and could be seen from all over southern Lake Garda. The environmental agency Arpa monitored the concentration of substances released during combustion. The mayor called for people to close their windows and refrain from spending time outdoors.
Tourists to Italy stock up on groceries in the shopping mall
The Le Vele shopping centre is located near the centre of Desenzano, on the road to the Milan-Verona motorway. There are also branches of Lidl, Maxi Zoo (Fressnapf), H&M, a Toys Center, etc. Many tourists stock up on food here. This will not be possible in the upcoming Pentecost holiday. Aerial photographs from today show that the shopping center was extensively destroyed.
It should not be the only malus for this year's Lake Garda holiday. After an extreme drought, Italy's government intervened and announced measures.
