Everyone who was trapped in the building is believed to have died, according to sources in the emergency services
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A massive fire erupted at a former research facility outside Moscow, the local emergency services have said, adding that a rescue operation is underway as firefighters attempt to extinguish the blaze.
The local authorities have confirmed that at least two people died in the fire. Media reports, however, put the number of deaths at eight or nine. According to sources within the emergency services, two people jumped to their deaths when the fire reached them, while others who were trapped in the building are believed to have been crushed after the ceiling collapsed.
The local branch of the Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) said on Monday afternoon that a blaze had broken out in the ‘Platan’ scientific center in the town of Fryazino, some 50km northeast of the Russian capital. Footage circulating on social media shows an eight-story building engulfed in smoke, with a fire raging about mid-way up. Other clips show people inside smashing windows to breathe.
Other footage that emerged later shows a powerful explosion, with plumes of flame shooting out of the structure.
EMERCOM noted that one person had been saved by a first responder, who it said was evacuated via a staircase. It cited preliminary reports as saying that nine people are still inside the building.
Later however, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said that two people had died as a result of the fire.
The ministry said the fire had spread from the fifth to the eighth floor, with operations being complicated by high temperatures and smoke. Twenty-four vehicles and 72 first responders are active at the scene, it added.
The Platan facility specializes in the production of lasers and LCD screens, as well as various kinds of lamps. However, a TASS source in law enforcement said that many premises in the center are rented, suggesting that the blaze could have started in one of those areas.
At the same time, the company ‘Ruselectronics’, which is owned by the state Rostec corporation, claimed according to TASS that the burning building has no relation to the Platan center and was transferred to private ownership after the collapse of the Soviet Union.