No fewer than eight people have died in an office building fire near Moscow, state-owned news agency Tass reports.
Some staff may still be trapped inside the blazing building in Fryazino, located around 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) northeast of the capital, according to local governor Andrey Vorobyov on social media.
Online video footage shows dense smoke billowing from the upper floors of the eight-story complex.
Some footage shows individuals at the windows, and local media reports that a number of people were spotted plunging from the top levels.
According to the state-owned news service Tass, the facility previously housed the Platan Research Institute and the defence industry.
However, a statement to the agency from Ruselectronics, a Russian-owned electronics company, stated that the facility has been privately held since the 1990s.
Mr. Vorobyov stated that eight emergency teams were working to rescue individuals still trapped within the structure.
He said that a 34-year-old male had been brought to the hospital in critical condition, and two firefighters were also being treated for injuries incurred in the incident.
According to emergency ministry authorities, more than 100 specialists and two helicopters were working to put out the fire. It is unclear what ignited the fire, but one eyewitness told Tass that it started on the sixth story and spread.
