The organizers of COP30 announced that a fire, which fortunately resulted in no injuries, was brought under control. However, fire officials took precautionary measures and evacuated the entire conference site. The timing for resuming the climate talks remains uncertain.

Celso Sabino, Brazil’s Tourism Minister, informed reporters at the location that the blaze originated near the China Pavilion. This pavilion was one of several set up to host various events linked to the climate conference.

The fire rapidly extended to adjacent pavilions, according to Samuel Rubin, who oversees an entertainment and culture pavilion. He noted that nearby structures included numerous African pavilions, as well as one dedicated to youth initiatives.

Footage captured dramatic flames engulfing one of the pavilions. These structures are typically constructed from reinforced canvas or fabric, featuring three walls and a floor.

Helder Barbalho, the Governor of Para state, told the local news outlet G1 that the fire might have been sparked by a generator malfunction or a short circuit within a booth.

Much of the summit venue in Belem was still under construction right up until the conference opened, with exposed beams, open plywood floors and metal meshed-in corridors leading nowhere outside the convention centre.

During a pre-summit event, drilling and jackhammering could be heard as world leaders delivered speeches and scores of workers in hardhats scurried around unfinished pavilions shrouded in plastic.

Gabi Andrade, a volunteer with COP30 from host city Belem, said she has been working on accreditations at the conference for the last three weeks.

Thursday was her first free afternoon and she’d just gotten off her lunch break and was exploring the Singapore pavilion when the fire broke out.

She said she saw black smoke. A security guard grabbed her hand and showed her to the exit as she cried and screamed “fire.”

Beneath the shock of the situation, she worried what this would mean for the Brazilian reputation, hosting the talks. “It’s so sad for us,” she said. “We all worked so hard.”