Ocean Plaza, one of Kyiv’s major malls, was flooded on Jan. 13, after a hot-water pipe ruptured.
At about 8 p.m., water from a 1-meter-wide pipe flooded into the mall from Antonovycha Street near Lybidska metro station. The hot water covered the basement-level floor of the mall that hosts shops, cafes and the Auchan supermarket.
Visitors had to be evacuated. Rescue teams brought seven people to hospitals due to burns of various severity.
The flood also damaged nearby roads, and a mini-bus and a trolleybus got stuck in the ruptured road. Seven passengers were extricated from the vehicles.
As of Jan. 14, the water was removed, but the mall was not yet operational. The mall has installed additional security guards to protect its shops against looters.
Auchan told journalists of the Segodnya news website that none of its customers were injured but they decided to close for the day.
Damage estimates were unavailable.
The ruptured pipe was laid in 1978 and was in bad condition, the Kyiv City Administration told RBC Ukraine news website. The area where Ocean Plaza is located has recently experienced a dramatic surge in construction and the aging infrastructure has not been adequate in accommodating the new developments.
City authorities are repairing the pipeline and the damaged roads.
Back in May 2016, a hot water pipe broke in the same area. Nobody got injured then.
