DUSHANBE, September 5, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- A recent fire at Dushanbe’s Korvon bazaar has reportedly been caused by electrical malfunction, Khudoiqul Nazarov, the deputy head of the main firefighting directorate within the Ministry of Interior (MoI), told Asia-Plus on Monday.

“The fire that broke out in one of the bazaar’s shopping streets on August 8 was caused by defective air-conditioner,” said Nazarov, “Damage cased by the fire has been estimated at 44,500 somoni (equivalent to more than 9,300 U.S. dollars).”

The Korvon bazaar is located on an area of more than 14,000 square meters.  At least four fires have occurred at the bazaar since December 2002, when it was established.  A total damage caused by those four fires has been estimated at more than 3.5 million U.S. dollars.