At 07:09 in the morning call was received to Viestura Street in Jēkabpils, where smoke had developed in a two-storey public building, Ilze Dāme-Birziņa, representative of the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD), told LETA.
Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters found that items were burning in the basement of the building, within 15 square meters.
A search of the building found a fatality, as well as damage to the building's structures. Rescuers' work at the scene concluded at 12:56. LETA was informed by the State Police that a commercial center employee – a man born in 1969 – lost his life in the fire.
Dzintars Cvilikovskis, commander of the Jēkabpils unit of the VUGD, confirmed to LETA that the heating boiler may have exploded in the shopping center.
As a result of the explosion, walls collapsed in the basement and panels shifted on the 1st floor, so the operation of the building was suspended.
Cvilikovskis also said the causes of the explosion will still be investigated by the State Police, as well as the building will be reviewed by building authority experts to determine the extent of the damage and the potential danger.
