Emergency crews rushed to Inanda Road in Durban’s Springfield area following reports of a massive fire at China City.
Crews arrived at the scene just after 1am.
Marshall Security’s Andreas Mathios said the fire was contained by eThekwini Fire.
“Reports from various paramedics that arrived on scene was that there were no serious injuries or fatalities,” he said.
“The building was sealed off to shop owners who were trying to get inside their businesses to get stock. The other parts of the building was also attended to by police and specialised units.”
He said shop owners were concerned that news of the fire could spread and lead to looting.
In 2019, a woman fell to her death at the premises while fleeing protesters. Anitha Premdaw fell through perspex on the mall roof. Mount Moriah resident Premdaw, 48, who fell 5m, had recently been employed as a cleaner. She died of her injuries at the scene, while a person with her broke a leg when she also jumped.
In a separate fire, in January last year, the China Emporium was completely gutted. The building, located in the western side of the Durban Central Business District, was extensively damaged.
A structural engineer’s report received days after the fire recommended that the entire building be demolished. eThekwini Municipality confirmed that a decision to demolish the structure was undertaken to recover R28 million from the developer.
Following the blaze, the building owner, Zoloscore Investments (Pty) Ltd was directed to demolish the structure within six months however, this was not done.
“Due to non-action by the owners, the municipality approached court for the demolition of the building to be granted through a court order,” the City said in a statement in August.
IOL