Safety, security officers injured in suspicious fire at UN headquarters

Two UN safety and security officers were injured Sunday in a small, suspicious fire in the basement of the General Assembly building at UN Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York, just hours after an emergency Security Council meeting in a nearby building, officials said.

"It was a very, very minor injury, from smoke inhalation," a Fire Department of New York (FDNY) official on the scene told Xinhua. The site of the fire was in the basement of the General Assembly building, near the center of the seven hectare campus along the borough of Manhattan's East River in New York City.

Asked what caused the fire, he replied, "The (fire) marshals are coming" to investigate.

Later, Vannina Maestracci, a UN spokeswoman, told Xinhua, "There was a small fire in the gift shop area of the 1B General Assembly building. It was promptly put out by the UN Fire Unit and the New York Fire Department. Preliminary investigations indicate that this was an electrical fire. There is some water damage to the area but UNHQ will be open tomorrow (Monday)."

"Two security officers were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure," she added.

The Visitors Lobby and Gift Shop area were open to the public earlier in the day but was closed at the time the fire was reported. Fire fighters gained entrance through the East 46th Street Visitors Entrance on First Avenue. It was reopened for firefighters.

The blaze was reported at 6:28 p.m. local time and was declared under control 22 minutes later, FDNY spokesman, Lt. Craig Mosia, told Xinhua.

The Security Council meeting on Yemen, followed by consultations behind closed doors, began shortly after 3 p.m. local time in the south end of the Conference Building along the riverfront and ended around 6 p.m. local time. Enditem