Fire at secret document base

TOP secret military documents may have been destroyed during a fire at a Russian military base yesterday that killed five soldiers, RIA news agency reported, quoting an unnamed special services source.

The blaze at the base in Tambov, about 400km south-east of Moscow, occurred in an intelligence agency building where classified documents of special importance to Russia were kept, RIA reported, quoting what it described as a high-ranking source in the local region’s special services.

The blaze took 17 fire fighting units to bring under control and two officers and three conscripts were killed and seven more injured.