Emergency evacuation initiated at St. Petersburg shopping centre in Russia

Rescue operations commenced at the "Passage" shopping centre located on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, as reported by the publication Fontanka.

Director of the shopping centre, Dmitry Abramov, confirmed the evacuation in response to a reported threat. "According to the regulations, this information is being checked now," Abramov stated.

This development follows a recent incident on March 24, where the London Mall shopping centre in St. Petersburg underwent evacuation due to a bomb threat. The evacuation was prompted by an anonymous report to law enforcement, resulting in the detainment of the individual responsible. Currently, explosion technicians are conducting examinations within the shopping centre.

An eyewitness to the unfolding events, Anastasia, recounted her experience to Gazeta.Ru, highlighting the absence of an alarm system activation within the shopping centre and the closure of emergency exits. Anastasia described the chaos that ensued as people attempted to utilize the sole functioning escalator, which malfunctioned, causing passengers to nearly lose their balance.

These incidents come in the wake of heightened security measures implemented across Russian shopping centres following the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.