Russia: Fire at spy agency building claims 3 lives

Three people died after a fire broke out on Wednesday at a building used by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service in Moscow, according to local media reports on Thursday.

Citing the emergency services, Russia's official TASS news agency said seven people were rescued after the blaze tore through a cable tunnel.

The fire erupted at around 4 p.m. local time (1300GMT) Wednesday, and clean-up operations ended after about six and a half hours, TASS added.

Initial reports had said there were no casualties. An investigation has been launched into the incident.