Short Circuit Sparks Devastating Fire at Casino in Mexico

A casino in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, owned by the Spain-based casino and entertainment company, Grupo Codere, recently burned down in what is seen as an accident.

Authorities See the Fire as an Accident Rather than a Deliberate Act

The devastating fire that resulted in the destruction of Royal Yak Casino together with a children’s park called Air Jump Trampolines Park at Cinépolis Plaza erupted on Thursday. A report released by the Daily Mail suggests that local authorities identified that the cause of the fire was a short circuit.

Reportedly, the fire started from one of Royal Yak Casino’s rooms, where welders were working. While the construction workers tried to extinguish the fire, which likely started from a spark from the welding process, the fire extinguisher on site was insufficient to stop the flames. As the fire quickly spread across the building, everyone was evacuated.

Aurelio Navarrete, a civil defense director, who was recently interviewed by the publication confirmed that 415 workers were evacuated. In addition, the authorities helped evacuate another 232 visitors of the shopping center that became the scene of the blaze. In the words of Navarrete: “Yes, we struggled a bit to remove the people, because everyone was trying to take photos and videos.”

On Friday, Feliciano Castro, Sinaloa’s secretary general, explained that the investigation so far hasn’t found any evidence suggesting that the fire was the result of arson. “Indeed, the line of progress reported by the prosecution rules out that it was provoked,” Castro explained.

One Person Injured, Remains in Stable Condition in Hospital

Videos filmed by witnesses to the fire show the roof engulfed in flames and smoke coming out of the structure. As the devastating blaze continued to expand, parts of the building collapsed.

Starting around 11 AM on Thursday, the fire was put down by firefighters in about two hours. Nearly 100 members of the Red Cross and Civil Defense, as well as the Culiacán Fire Department, helped extinguish the fire. School in close vicinity was also evacuated out of precaution.

The authorities confirmed that only one person was injured during the fire that destroyed Royal Yak Casino and Air Jump Trampolines Park. The victim is a 39-year-old man, who sustained second-degree burns. While the victim’s condition was serious and required hospitalization, he was reportedly stable.

It remains unclear if other parts of the shopping center were impacted by the flames. Luckily, nobody was trapped in the building that was engulfed in flames for minutes before it came crashing down with the spread of the fire.