A major fire at an iconic Moscow television center has engulfed offices of a national broadcast network and led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 people

A major fire at an iconic Moscow television center has engulfed offices of a national broadcast network and led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 people.

The Tuesday fire at Ostankino Television Center was successfully extinguished by local firefighters and, according to Emergencies Ministry authorities, left no injuries.

Although the exact cause of the fire has not yet been identified, reports indicate that it originated in a prop room and likely caused by “an electrical failure or carelessness,” as described by Ostankino spokesperson Denis Nazarov.

“The financial damage should be minimal,” Nazarov futher noted.

“The blaze which took up more than 25 square meters of space, was categorized as a level 4 difficulty fire (out of 5)” said Emergencies Ministry Press Secretary Viktor Biryukov.

The incident also forced public broadcaster OTR to switch to a reserve channel, local reports said.

The TV center was built in 1964, together with the Ostankino tower, which was then the tallest building in the world.

A major fire at the height of 460 meters of the skyscraper, however, ravaged the tower in 2000.