A fire broke out in the courtyard of the Izvestia Hall building in the center of Moscow, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
“The fire engulfed three unused buildings inside the yard. In one of them the structures partially collapsed. Firefighters from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations work in dense smoke conditions. Building structures and combustible materials create a high fire load. This complicates the firefighting efforts,” the department’s press service clarified.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the fire area is at least 1,500 square meters. It is also known that a metal dome structure collapsed in one of the burning buildings.
The authors of the SHOT telegram channel write about one injured man without indicating the source.
Izvestia Hall director Alexander Kaplatsky told REN TV that the banquet hall and the Lookin Rooms club were engulfed in fire. According to him, these premises “were vacated a long time ago and were on the line for demolition.”
Updated at 12:58. Added information that the banquet hall and club in the courtyard of Izvestia Hall burned down.