Four people killed as hot water pipe bursts flooding busy Moscow mall

Four people killed and several others hurt as hot water pipe bursts flooding busy Moscow shopping mall – in latest deadly horror leak to blight Russia

• The horrifying leak took place at the Vremena Goda shopping mall in Moscow
• Emergency services said that a hot water pipe ruptured on the ground floor 
• Five people were boiled alive in 2020 after a water pipe burst at a Russian hostel  

At least four people have been killed and several others hurt after a hot water pipe burst at a Moscow shopping mall in the latest deadly horror leak to blight Russia.

Distressing images showed victims lying on the floor with severe burns across their faces as they received urgent medical attention from paramedics. Dozens of ambulances and fire engines lined up near the mall as rescuers descended on the scene. 

Footage showed devastating flooding throughout the mall and steam flowing out of a doorway. Another video showed a man in visible pain as he was stretchered into an ambulance with burn marks on both legs.

The mall, known as Vremena Goda (The Seasons), opened in 2007 and houses over 150 stores. 

Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the incident as a ‘tragedy’. ‘Condolences to family and friends. Rescuers continue to work,’ he added. 

At least four people have been killed and several others hurt after a hot water pipe burst at a Moscow shopping mall in the latest deadly horror leak to blight Russia. Pictured: A woman walks near the scene with a blanket over her following the incident

The mall, known as Vremena Goda (pictured), opened in 2007 and houses over 150 stores

Rescuers and doctors descended on the scene to treat those who suffered burns at the mall

The Vremena Goda shopping mall is in western Moscow. Paramedics rushed to treat casualties on Saturday

Workers at the shopping mall looked stunned as they congregated outside after evacuating. Some were draped in blankets following the terrifying incident.

Russian news agency TASS reports that the Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the death of four people. 

‘A criminal case has been opened on the grounds of a crime under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (negligence in providing services that resulted in two or more deaths),’ Yulia Ivanova, spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee’s Moscow department, said.

Emergency services said that a hot water pipe ruptured on the ground floor of the mall and four bodies were found. Nine more were taken to hospital and one was sent for outpatient treatment. 

Tragically, this is not the first occasion where Russians have been killed by hot water pipes bursting.

In Russia, hot water is piped to work and residential buildings for heating especially during the severe winters. 

In January 2020 scalding water from a burst pipe flooded a hostel in the Ural region, killing five people including a mother and her five-year-old daughter.

Natalia Shats, 43, from Solikamsk, had been staying in the hostel with her daughter Ekaterina Shats following a check-up after heart surgery at a nearby hospital when they were trapped in the torrent of scalding water.

Workers and shoppers evacuated the shopping mall and looked stunned by what they had witnessed

Emergency services attend the shopping mall in the latest incident involving civilians being scolded by hot water

Ambulances line up as doctors and rescuers urgently arrived at the scene to treat those injured

Employees react near the ‘Vremena Goda’ (The Seasons) shopping centre after a hot water pipe burst in Moscow

Three more suffered serious burns from the scalding water at privately-owned Caramel hostel in the city of Perm, near the Ural mountains, including a father who waded through the burning rapids to carry his three-year-old son to safety.

The victims were all understood to be sleeping when the horrifying accident happened.

Two months prior, two men were boiled alive when their Lada car suddenly submerged into a sink hole of scorching water that opened up in Penza, killing them ‘almost immediately’.

Distressing pictures showed their bodies being lifted by crane from the 167F water alongside wreckage of their Lada Largus car. 

In 2018, a pensioner was doused in hot water as an underground pipe burst with volcanic force.

The woman, who was walking home after going to the shops, was suddenly drenched in the Russian city of Barnaul.

She vanished under the explosion of spray and steam but witnesses said she emerged unscathed.

The pensioner was soaked to the skin by the geyser but remained on her feet despite being hit by the powerful eruption. 

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