The Serbian Interior Ministry said it had received a signal about a fire at the largest Chinese indoor market in Serbia, located in the municipality of New Belgrade on the left bank of the Sava river, at about 7 a.m. (06:00 GMT). The fire eventually engulfed the entire market, with smoke spreading across New Belgrade and being visible from other parts of the city.
The fire was located by 10 a.m. A total of 76 firefighters took part in extinguishing it, using 25 fire engines and three helicopters, one of which was a Russian-made Ka-32. The helicopters dropped 71 tonnes of water on the fire in 37 sorties.
"We now have two Kamovs [Ka-32s]. If we have enough money, we will buy two more within two years, and then we will become a serious power in firefighting, not only in the Balkans, but also in the southeastern Europe," Vucic told reporters during his visit to the Multifunctional Center for Creativity and Innovation Lozionica in Belgrade.
The first Ka-32 was supplied to Serbia in October 2022, while the second one was delivered in September 2023, the president said.
"I am not happy with what happened today, but people could see what we have. For the first time we showed one of the two Kamovs we had purchased, as well as two H145s [twin-engine light utility helicopters manufactured by Airbus]," Vucic said.
Chinese Ambassador to Belgrade Li Ming visited the site of the incident earlier in the day and thanked the Serbian authorities for their "quick engagement in a difficult moment," the Radio Television of Serbia reported.
In August 2021, another fire broke out at this indoor market. Serbian firefighters battled the blaze for seven hours with 50 vehicles, and the fire was finally extinguished within a few days.
Local residents assume that today's fire broke out in one of the market's catering outlets, as it had previously caught fire due to faulty wiring.