Moscow escapes blackout after electrical fire

Firefighters have put out a fire at an electricity substation in Moscow, which threatened the capital’s power supply. The blaze started while new equipment was being tested at the Chagino plant in the south-east of the city.

The Emergencies Ministry said about 20 fire crews and a helicopter worked for hours to put out the flames.

Three years ago, a blast at the same substation left several Moscow districts and two dozen towns near the capital without electricity for several hours.

At the time it was described as the biggest energy accident in Russia and cost the country $US 70 million.