45 injured in Moscow metro fire

At least 45 people have sought medical assistance after a fire broke out in a Moscow metro on Wednesday, the Emergency Situations Ministry's local bureau said.

"According to adjusted information, 45 people sought medical help, seven of them were hospitalized," the Interfax news agency quoted the bureau spokesman Viktor Biryukov as saying.P The majority of injuries got carbon monoxide poisoning, he added.

About 4,500 commuters were evacuated as a cable caught fire and caused heavy smoke in the Sokolnicheskaya line, or the red line of Moscow. The fire was extinguished at around 09:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).

Another source in law enforcement department said the fire was not caused by human factor, but "most likely by a technical malfunction."

"It will take some two hours to liquidate all consequences of the fire," the source said, adding the metro would resume its normal operation afternoon.