MfE believes "Narodnaya Gazeta" office in Sochi was set on fire

As reported by Vadim Ramazanov, deputy head for international activities of the city's department of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), the supposed reason of today's morning fire in the premises of "Narodnaya Gazeta" (People's Newspaper) in Sochi was arson; according to latest data, there were no casualties or victims.

Let us remind you that earlier the paper's staff reported about an explosion and fire in their office. According to their story, there were eyewitnesses from among house dwellers, where the office is located, who saw two persons fleeing in the morning after the explosion. The fire destroyed the room of the commercial division of the paper.

The dispatcher of the Fire-Fighting Service received a call at 4:25 a.m. Moscow time, and at 5:18 a.m. the fire was extinguished. The editorial office of the "Narodnaya Gazeta" is located in the 5-storey apartment block at No. 30 Uchitelskaya Street. Some 200 persons were evacuated out of the building.

The fact that the heavy iron door and the window units of the office were torn out speaks in favour of the arson, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

The "Max Portal" writes that Tatiana Chernovalova, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, relates the attack on the office with latest publications of the edition.