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Moscow's Historic Pushkin Museum Evacuated After Catching Fire

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The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts was evacuated Friday after the early 20th century building in central Moscow caught fire, the Interfax news agency reported.

An unnamed source told the agency that more than 30 people were evacuated after a fire broke out in the museum’s ventilation system.

Initial videos uploaded to social media showed smoke coming from the museum’s private collections building.

The Pushkin Gallery later confirmed to The Moscow Times that the fire, caused by a technical fault, had broken out in the private collections building but was under control.

The museum said its collections were not under threat of damage or destruction. 

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Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations told reporters that the fire was 40 square meters and that an investigation was underway.

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