Around 2 pm on Friday , as the global climate negotiation was reaching its peak, suddenly a major fire broke out at African pavilion in zine B and disrupted the conference,।
Immediately all the delegates were asked to evacuate and according to a senior UN official nearly 30000 were within the conference site at that moment.
The fire got extinguished soon but several stalls were severely damaged. Around 19 persons got affected, mainly choked on toxic fume, but according to UN, no major injury was caused to anyone.
The negotiation got halted, the parties, observers and media were asked to evacuate through emergency gate as the Brazilian administration , along with the UN, undertook a detailed safety audit.
It was said that over power consumption might have led to an electrical fault, and many think that regular rain – Belem us used to have rain almost every afternoon – might have contributed.
The conference opened again in late evening on Friday, negotiation resumed and is scheduled to continue throughout today and, if required, tomorrow as well.