(Moscow) The major fire which broke out during the night from Thursday to Friday in a residential building in the northwest of Moscow was “localized”, announced the Russian authorities, who carried out around 400 evacuations
At this stage, the authorities have not mentioned potential causes of the fire and said they have no “information” on possible victims.
The fire hit a building near the “Airport” metro station in the northwest of Moscow, according to the municipal services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
“The fire is localized,” this source said in the middle of the night, without giving further details.
According to an AFP journalist on site a little earlier, the roof was then on fire, imposing flames gushing out, while onlookers observed the scene in the dark lit night.
Part of the roof even collapsed due to the flames.
Around twenty fire trucks and several police cars were also present on the scene.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations indicated at that time on Telegram that four thousand square meters were on fire, “more than 130 specialists” having been dispatched to the site, as well as “two Ka-32 helicopters » who “dropped 15 tonnes of water”.
A video broadcast on the ministry’s Telegram channel showed a helicopter dumping a large quantity of water onto the roof into the air.
“Around 400 people were evacuated,” said the same source in a separate press release.
A resident met on site by AFP said she was woken up by a firefighter who asked her to leave the area immediately.
This 83-year-old lady says she then took her cat, her passport, and left her apartment peacefully, like all her neighbors. Another lady was seen leaving her home in a wheelchair.
“The firefighters are taking all necessary measures to eliminate the fire,” assured Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on the Telegram social network. “The evacuated residents are receiving the necessary help,” he added.
The building was built in the 1950s and the descendants of many writers and other members of the Moscow intelligentsia still reside there since Soviet times.