The thick smoke rises from a building in the storage area of China Mart in Warsaw, Poland. A serious fire broke out Tuesday morning, May 10, 2011, burning 150 storage units covering nearly 2 hectares and caused direct economic loss of more than 400 million yuan (or 61.6 million USD). [Zjol.com.cn]

A raging fire broke out Tuesday morning in a storehouse of China Mart in the Polish capital, Warsaw. Most of the scorched units are owned by overseas Chinese businessmen, who suffered great losses in the fire.

The storage area is located in Warsaw suburbs, two kilometers away from China Mart. The flames quickly spread to most of the building's floor space, which housed commercial items. The blaze has destroyed 150 storage units, covering nearly 2 hectares. It's caused direct economic losses of 400 million yuan,or more than 60 million US dollars, leaving many bankrupt.

Lu Xili, Businessman of China Mart, said, "We've devoted most of our time and energy to doing business here, we've been far away from our families and hometowns for dozens of years, the fire has put all our efforts to vain. "

With more than 80 million us dollars' investment and 650 shops, Warsaw China Mart is the largest investment program of its kind in eastern Europe. It is also the largest distribution center of Chinese goods. 108 storage units, used for housing textile items and home appliance, have been burned, most of them owned by Chinese businessmen from Zhejiang province. In recent years, due to the enlarging business, many of them rented units at the warehouse for storing goods.

It took one-day for over 30 firefighting teams to extinguish the fire. No casualties have been reported.

The case is still under investigation. Officials from the Chinese embassy in Poland have arrived at the scene to help Chinese traders deal with the aftermath of the disaster.