Massive fire engulfs business center in Moscow

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – A massive fire broke out in a business center in Moscow on Friday and quickly spread to multiple floors, according to the country’s Emergency Ministry.

Several people were trapped on the sixth and seventh floors of the 10-story Grand Setun Plaza business center, the ministry said.

The fire engulfed an area of about 1,000 square meters (10,764 square feet) on the first four floors of the building and was assigned “the highest complexity level.”

Emergency Minister Alexander Kurenkov arrived at the spot to personally monitor the situation.

Over 180 personnel and 41 units of special equipment are engaged in efforts to douse the blaze, the ministry said.

Traffic on streets adjacent to the building was blocked to facilitate the rescue operation.

Emergency services are carrying out evacuations, with 15 ambulances providing primary medical assistance at the site.