Ljubljana fire brigade commander Tomaž Kučič told the press the dead person seemed to be an employee of a company which was doing maintenance works on the warehouse when it caught fire.

Mercator confirmed for the STA that the fire broke out in its main cold storage warehouse for central Slovenia.

The company did not provide an assessment of the damage, but said it would do all in its power for its stores to be supplied without interruptions.

Mercator however put off the release of first-quarter results, scheduled for today, to tomorrow, a release on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange says.

The fire, which caught some 10,000 sq. metres of warehouse facilities in the borough of Zalog has been put out, according to Kaučič.

As many as 180 firefighters have been involved in efforts to extinguish and contain it, and some 30 police officers are still at the scene.

The teams will remain there for at least another three hours to prevent the fire form being rekindled.

While the cause of the fire is yet to be established, Kaučič said the only thing they knew was that maintenance works were in course when it broke out.

The cause could be establish once the conditions at the scene allowed for teams of inspectors to visit it, which is not expected today.

One person has meanwhile been taken to the UKC Ljubljana hospital with minor injuries.

The buildings in the immediate vicinity of the warehouse have been evacuated, including kindergartens.

People from the wider area have been advised to remain indoors and close the doors and windows of their homes to avoid exposure to smoke.