Fire at shopping centre kills 11 in Syrian capital city

A fire broke out in a shopping centre in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, the state-owned news agency said.

Sana reported that two people were rescued from the La Mirada Mall building and the injured were immediately transferred to the local Al-Mowasat University Hospital.

It added that several of the injured suffered smoke inhalation and that six ambulances were immediately sent to the scene of the blaze.

The fire broke out at night when the centre was closed and most of the dead are believed to be security guards.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire.

Syria’s medical sector was hard-hit by the country’s conflict that began in March 2011, killed about half a million people and left large parts of the country destroyed.