Fire at Avtoframos extinguished
MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) - A fire on the premises of Renault's automotive plant in Moscow, Avtoframos, has been extinguished, a Renault representative told Interfax.
The fire broke out in the ventilation shaft of one of the factory's shops, this source said. "The fire has been put out, no-one was hurt, and no damage was done to the conveyor or to automobiles. The plant will resume work as usual soon," the source said.
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry has confirmed that the fire has been extinguished. "At 12:57 p.m. Moscow time, the fire in the spray-painting room of the Avtoframos plant's welding shop was extinguished over 30 square meters," the ministry's Moscow section told Interfax.
A company press service representative said that no-one was harmed by the fire, the cause of which is being determined.
A law and order agency source told Interfax that the factory's automatic sprinkling system helped to localize the fire. There were 165 workers evacuated from the building.
Avtoframos was established in 1998 by Renault and the Moscow city government. In 2004, Renault purchased a 26% stake put up for sale by the city and increased its stake to 94.1% in 2006 in the course of a corporate reorganization. Renault consolidated 100% of Avtoframos shares in November of last year. Renault has invested about 480 million euros in the plant.
