Smoke rises from coronavirus hospital in Moscow

Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying the building that caught fire was under construction and had no patients inside. Footage from NTV showed fire engines on the scene and smoke rising above the complex into the night sky. Five patients were killed in May when an overloaded ventilator started a fire in an intensive care unit in St Petersburg.

Smoke billowed from one of Moscow's main coronavirus centres, the Kommunarka hospital, after a building caught fire on Wednesday, Russian television reported.

A loud bang had been heard before the fire, channel NTV said. Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying the building that caught fire was under construction and had no patients inside.

Footage from NTV showed fire engines on the scene and smoke rising above the complex into the night sky. The local branch of the emergencies ministry said it was aware of the incident and was investigating, but it had no information about any casualties, the RIA news agency reported.

Russia has already experienced fires at coronavirus facilities, with more than 150 patients evacuated from a temporary hospital in October following an oxygen explosion and fire. Five patients were killed in May when an overloaded ventilator started a fire in an intensive care unit in St Petersburg.

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