A fire quickly spread through the pavilions used for the UN climate conference in Brazil, causing evacuations on Thursday, the penultimate day of the event. Authorities reported that 13 people were treated for smoke inhalation.
Organizers said the fire was brought under control in about six minutes. Firefighters ordered the evacuation of the entire conference site, known as COP30, and there was no timeline for resuming negotiations.
Brazil’s Tourism Minister, Celso Sabino, told journalists on site that the fire started near the China Pavilion, one of several pavilions set up for events parallel to the climate conference.
The fire quickly spread to neighboring pavilions, said Samuel Rubin, one of those in charge of an entertainment and culture pavilion. He said that among the nearby pavilions are several African pavilions and one aimed at young people.
Videos showed huge flames in one of the pavilions, reinforced canvas or fabric structures that usually have three walls and a floor.
Pará Governor Helder Barbalho told local news channel G1 that a generator failure or a short circuit in a cabin may have started the fire.
Much of the summit site in Belém was still under construction until the conference opened, with exposed beams, plywood floors, and corridors with wire mesh that led nowhere outside the convention center. During a pre-summit event, it was possible to hear the noise of drilling and jackhammers while world leaders spoke and dozens of helmeted workers moved quickly through the unfinished pavilions covered in plastic.
Gabi Andrade, a COP30 volunteer in the host city of Belém, said she had been working on conference accreditations for the past three weeks. Thursday was her first free afternoon, and she had just returned from lunch and was exploring the Singapore pavilion when the fire started.
She said she saw black smoke. A security guard held her hand and led her to the exit as she cried and shouted “fire!”.
Amid the shock of the situation, she was concerned about what this would mean for Brazil’s reputation as the host country of the negotiations. “It’s very sad for us,” she said. “We all worked very hard.”
Source: npr.org