Moscow gas pipeline inferno injures five
Moscow on Sunday suffered its worst fire in decades when a gas pipeline blast sent flames bursting into the sky and raised new concerns about the security of Russia's ageing energy infrastructure.
The fire produced spectacular plumes of yellow flames reaching 200 metres high and huge clouds billowing smoke were visible against the night sky, television pictures showed.
Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who rushed to the scene, said that five people had been injured in the fire, including one man who received 35 percent burns, but there had been no fatalities.
The cause of the fire was almost certainly to be technical in nature, he added, virtually ruling out the possibility of foul play.
"In my opinion, 99 percent sure, this was a technical catastrophe. This all still needs to be investigated," he said in comments on state television.
"The cause could have been an upsurge of pressure in the pipeline, as a result of which an explosion took place underground," he added.
"I don't remember there ever being a fire like this in Moscow," added deputy mayor Petr Birukov, while the Interfax news agency quoted other officials as saying it was the worst in two decades.
The fire broke out at 0030 local time (0630 AEST) and at its peak sent flames 200 metres high into the sky. But by the morning the blaze had been brought under control and the flames reduced to 20 metres, officials said.
The emergencies ministry said the fire was a category five on its scale for assessing such incidents, the most serious level possible. It said that 35 fire brigade units had been sent to the scene.
"All of our efforts are directed towards reducing the temperature around the centre of the fire," said deputy emergency situations minister Alexander Chupriyan, predicting that it would be put out by midday.
The city's energy system would not be affected, Birukov added. But the municipal telecoms firm said that 80,000 customers had lost their phone connection after nearby underground cables were damaged by high temperatures.
The authorities halted all traffic in the immediate area around the fire close to the Michurinsky Avenue in southwest Moscow, a key artery that leads towards the Moscow River in the centre if the city, RIA Novosti quoted traffic police as saying.
There was no threat to nearby apartment blocks, with the nearest building an administrative building 200 metres away and a 19-storey apartment block half a kilometre distant.
Two dozen cars parked in the vicinity were damaged but no-one was inside them at the time.
Dozens of local residents, who had been up late celebrating Saturday's holiday to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, emerged to watch the fire from a safe distance with many recording the event on camcorders.
Officials were also at pains to emphasise that preparations for the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, due to take place in the capital next weekend not far from the scene of the blast, would not be affected.
Such fires are frequent events throughout the former Soviet Union due to ageing pipeline infrastructure that has not been renewed in decades.
Pipeline blasts in ex-Soviet Moldova and Turkmenistan in April both caused by technical mishaps severely disrupted gas supplies.
Um incêndio produzido por um gasoduto parou a tranquilidade da noite moscovita perto da avenida Michurinsky. Segundo as autoridades locais, as chamas alcançaram 200 metros acima da cidade.

De acordo com , prefeito da cidade, ainda não foi relatado pessoas mortas e não chegou a acreditar nos relatados devido ao abastecimento de gás que foi interrompido, mas pelo menos cinco pessoas ficaram feridas pelo fogo, um dos que sofreu queimaduras em 35% do corpo. O prefeito acrescentou que a causa do fogo poderia ser "um aumento na pressão gerada na canalização gerou a explosão subterrânea", embora ele pode muito bem acontecer de maneira intencional.

As chamas começaram pouco depois de 00:30 (20:30 do sábado GMT). Pela manhã, o fogo havia sido controlado, as chamas quase atingiram os 20 metros. O Ministério de Emergências da Rússia descreveu o incêndio na categoria 5, a mais alta escala. Foram enviados 35 unidades de bombeiros para combater as chamas.

"Todos os nossos esforços são orientados no sentido de reduzir a temperatura em torno do centro do incêndio", disse Alexander Chupriyan, vice-ministro de situações de emergência. Também previu que o fogo se apagará por completo no meio-dia. Birukov, adjunto do prefeito acrescentou que o sistema de energia da cidade não vai ser afetado pelo fogo. No entanto, a empresa municipal de telecomunicações informou que 80.000 pessoas perderam suas conexões telefônicas, já que o fogo queimou cabos subterrâneos. 

As autoridades de transportes encerraram o tráfego na zona circundante, incluindo a ''Michurinsky'', uma grande via rodoviária que liga os subúrbios com Moscova no centro da cidade. Cerca de 25 veículos estacionados sem ocupantes foram danificados pelo fogo, enquanto que dezenas de residentes registaram a ocorrência de câmeras de vídeo.

O incêndio não colocou em risco a blocos de apartamentos nas proximidades. O fogo afetou dois edifícios administrativos adjacentes, mas não o próximo prédio residencial que está localizado 500 metros de distância.

Incêndios como este são cada vez mais frequentes na área da antiga União Soviética, devido ao envelhecimento da estrutura de transportes de combustíveis, onde não tem sido realizado manutenção ou se tem sido remodelada em décadas. As autoridades dizem que os preparativos para o , que decorre durante o próximo fim de semana, não verão afetados.