Moscow - (AFP) - The Russian Emergency Management Department suspects that the massive fire that broke out Thursday night in a shopping center in a suburb of Moscow, resulting in one death, was caused by a "criminal" act, according to Russian news agencies.

And the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced Friday that "firefighting teams are struggling to put out a fire on an area of seven thousand square meters," which broke out on Thursday night in a shopping center in a suburb of the capital, Moscow.

However, it did not confirm information reported by the Russian media about the death toll.

The "Mega Khimki" shopping center in the northern suburb of Khimki, seven kilometers from Sheremetyevo International Airport, caught fire.

"Because of the collapse of the roof, the fire immediately spread over a wide area," the ministry said on Instagram, noting the difficulty the firefighting teams were facing at work.

Shortly after that, Russian news agencies quoted unidentified sources in the emergency department as saying that the authorities suspected that the fire was caused by a "criminal" act.

The agency "Interfax" stated that the hypothesis of "deliberate actions, such as a criminal fire, is on the table," while the agency "Sputnik" said that a criminal act is "one of the main explanations" for this fire.

State news agencies said afterwards that the cause of the fire may have been a violation of safety standards.

Videos posted on social media showed a huge fire and people fleeing a building on fire towards a parking lot.