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Several hundred clients had to be evacuated from Sandvika Storsenter in Bærum when a car fire broke out in the garage below the center.
Some of the customers who were evacuated from the mall stood up and continued the rescue efforts. Photo: Ida Grieg Riisnæs
Heavy smoke billowed out of the garage and large numbers of police and fire trucks withdrew.
The fire occurred in a car in the underground parking garage below the mall.
The fire has already been extinguished, but the search for the injured continues.
The fire was reported at 7:20 p.m., and just half an hour later, police and firefighters declared that it had been extinguished.
Heavy smoke comes out of the garage of the Sandvika shopping center in Bærum Photo: Ida Grieg Riisnæs
One person was transported on a stretcher from the garage, photos of the rescue work show.
The smoke divers still looked for injuries and got an overview of the extent of material damage.
At 8.15pm, heavy smoke was still billowing from the large garage below the mall.
Customers of Norway’s largest shopping center are being evacuated after a large fire broke out in the underground garage below the Sandvika shopping center. Photo: Ida Grieg Riisnæs
The fire spread to neighboring cars.
There must have been a total over-ignition and a lot of smoke at the site. The parking lot is located in the newer part of the mall and is completely underground.
– It is clear that the fire in closed environments is more critical than when it is outdoors, says the commander on duty Eirik Sundt Fredriksen at the 110 exchange in Oslo to NTB
The Sandvika shopping center was closed from the center so that no customers would be lost in the area.
A witness tells Aftenposten that from outside the sound of several knocks could be heard from the garage.
Evacuated customers and anxious car owners wondering what happened to their cars were asked to stay away because the smoke could be dangerous.
Firefighters and smoke divers searched the garage tonight to make sure no people were there. Photo: Ida Grieg Riisnæs
So far no injuries have been reported, but the public is being asked to stay away from the parking lot until further notice.
Several cars are said to have been damaged in the fire, and it is highly uncertain when the garage will reopen.
