Despite the efforts of over 60 firefighters, an iconic industrial monument of the southeast-Hungarian town of Békéscsaba has been completely gutted by fire.
According to Rmx.news, 15 fire engines with 67 firefighters responded, but only managed to contain the fire, which at a point threatened a nearby hospital. Monday morning firefighters were still dousing the remains of the building with water to prevent it from re-ignition.
The original István mill was built in 1853 by German engineer Anton Pain, but after a succession of owners, it was torn down on 1873 to make way for a larger one – this was completed in the same year and has since been the country’s largest steam-operated flour mill.
A flour explosion in 1915 destroyed a large part of the building, which was again enlarged during its reconstruction and gained a new flour warehouse and grains silo. It was converted to electricity in 1961. It ceased functioning in 2005 and lay abandoned since.
Photo credit: MTI