DUSHANBE, October 10, 2008, Asia-plus  -- A fire broke out at the Shohmansour market today morning at around 6:00 a.m.

According to the main fire directorate within the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the fire destroyed a trading center, Nargis, and three shops in the western part of the market.  No injured was reported.

“14 fire crews have worked to put out the fire and they have managed to localize it,” the source said, noting that the cause of the fire is under investigation.

“According to the preliminary assessments, the fire destroyed an area of some 2,000 square meters and damage caused by it may exceed one million somoni.”

We will recall that a large fire broke out at Dushanbe’s largest merchandise market, Korvon, on August 13, at around 1:00 a.m.  The fire destroyed an area of 2,100 square meters.  Fortunately, no casualties were reported.  Investigation established that the Korvon fire had been caused by arson.