YEREVAN. – The owner of Malatia Mall shopping center Samvel Aleksanyan complained about lack of sufficient number of fire engines at the site of the fire.

Aleksanyan told police chief Valery Osipyan that if the fire engines had come earlier, there would have been no such consequences.

“Only four two-ton fire engines came to the site when fire broke out,” Aleksanyan said.

Seven people were injured as fire broke out Saturday at the Malatia Mall shopping center in Yerevan.

Eighteen combat crews of the fire and rescue squad of Yerevan, a response group of the National Crisis Management Center, a rescue squad of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergencies of Armenia left for the scene. Minister of Emergency Situations Felix Tsolakyan was also at the scene.

Employees of the shopping center risked their lives when taking out the goods, in particular household appliances, furniture, bicycles and other staff.