Fire scare interrupts Sudanese News Agency

The Sudan News Agency [SUNA] resumed its broadcast services as normal on Tuesday afternoon after a hiatus that lasted for several hours as heavy smoke rose from a fire on the seventh floor of the downtown Khartoum building. SUNA deputy director Abdallah Gadallah says heavy smoke started to rise at 10:00am, almost two hours after the beginning of the work day. According to Gadallah, a civil defence unit was able to protect the agency's main equipment and evacuate employees through the emergency exit. They also took take necessary safety measures by cutting off the electricity supply, securing the telecommunication grid and calling up civil defence reinforcements in the event the situation developed. The fire was contained with no human losses or material damage to the agency's equipment. Gadallah says the incident was probably caused by an electrical fire, according to preliminary information given by the civil defence forces.