Georgian TV fire traps 22 journalists, staff say

A fire at a business centre in Tbilisi trapped 22 journalists inside the smoke-filled newsroom of Georgian opposition broadcaster Formula TV on Wednesday, staff said.

The blaze broke out in the Delisi business centre, sending thick smoke into the broadcaster's studios and newsroom and forcing it off air.

Formula journalist Sopho Vardiashvili told Interpress news agency that 22 staff members were stranded because smoke had filled the building's stairwells.

“We are 22 people in the newsroom. For now, we are safe,” she said, adding that firefighters had told them the newsroom was the safest place to stay.

Another Formula journalist, Nino Zhizhilashvili, wrote on Facebook that the team had stopped broadcasting and that some staff could not get out because of the smoke.

There was no immediate information about casualties or the cause of the fire.