MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) – Helicopters were dispatched Saturday to deal with a large fire in a commercial building in Moscow that spread over an area of 700 square meters, according to officials.
The fire broke out in a two-storied shopping center in southeast Moscow on Saturday afternoon. Two fire fighting helicopters were dispatched to the scene, and the nearby metro station, Ploshchad Ilicha, was temporarily closed, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.
There were no reports of injuries during the conflagration, which was eventually brought under control and extinguished by 6:00 p.m. It was not immediately clear what had caused the fire.
Moscow has been experiencing a spell of unusually high temperatures, with the temperature in the capital Saturday hovering around 30 degrees.