CORRECTION - Fire has swept through the Vietnamese Trade Centre in Wólka Kosowska, a small locality in the southern suburbs of Warsaw.

Flames in one of the four gigantic halls were reported at 05:30 CET in the morning. Twenty five fire fighting units have managed to contain the blaze but it will take several more hours before the fire can be extinguished.

No casualties have been reported, so far.

The cause of the fire and an estimate of losses are yet to be determined. The total area of the shopping and warehouse facilities at the Vietnamese Trade Centre is 150 thousand square meters, the size of fifteen average shopping malls. The area supplies the numerous small retail outlets in Warsaw and elsewhere in Poland owned by a Vietnamese, which is estimated to amount to between 20 to 50,000.

Police has sealed off the area and big traffic jams have blocked the major route from the capital leading to Wroclaw and Krakow, running next to the burning complex. (ss/pg)