The world’s largest food market was engulfed in a “violent fire” on Sunday.

The blaze “completed destroyed” the storage warehouse for fruit and vegetables at the Rungis International Market, Paris, France, according to its president Stéphane Layani.

However, thanks to “rapid intervention by teams from the Paris fire brigade”, fire was contained and brought under control, said Layani. Paris firefighters have warned residents to avoid the area.

The Rungis International Market, with an area of 234ha at the gates of Paris, hosts 1,209 companies, employs 12,000 people and markets 2.8m tonnes of food produce each year, for a total turnover of €9.4bn.

Investigations ongoing

Layani said that no casualties occurred during the blaze and that investigations to “establish the cause” are ongoing.

The Rungis International Market president expressed his solidarity with Les Halles Mandar, the fruit and vegetable company most impacted by the fire. Layani said: “The destruction of this warehouse saddens me deeply.

“Even if the Rungis Market will resume activities, when a market operator is the victim of a tragedy of this nature, it is the whole market that is affected in its heart,” he said.