Fire at French public radio complex, staff evacuated

PARIS (Reuters) - A fire broke out at France's public radio headquarters in Paris on Friday, forcing live programmes off the air as staff evacuated the vast Paris complex where major building work has been underway. "The fire is not put out but it is under control," said Paris fire brigade spokesman Gabriel Plus, adding that there were no victims and that there was no longer any risk of the fire spreading to other parts of the building. Photographs circulating on Twitter shortly after the fire broke out showed thick black smoke billowing from upper floors of the building on the banks of the Seine river in the western part of the French capital. "Staff ... had to be evacuated because of a fire," said a Twitter message from France Info, one of several public radio channels housed at the building, the Maison de la Radio. France Info highlighted that building work had been underway recently at the building, where thousands of journalists and other staff work. Fire brigade spokesman Plus said that the fire broke out in a part of the complex where no staff were presented because of renovation work that in part concerned eradication of asbestos. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Brian Love; editing by Mark John)