Firefighters have been called to put out a fire at the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic building in the capital, Bishkek, the Ministry of Emergency Situations says.
One of the Philharmonic employees told RFE/RL on August 31 that the fire began on the fifth floor of the building and that people were evacuated.
There was no information about whether there were more people inside the building, Elmira Sheripova, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told the media.
The first information about the fire was received at the ministry at 12:26 p.m. local time. A team of five firefighters was sent in to put the fire out, the ministry told RFE/RL.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Photographs and videos posted on social media show black smoke plumes coming out of the windows of the western side of the Philharmonic building.
