Update: All Formula employees have been evacuated from the building, with fire and rescue personnel escorting them downstairs via the stairwell in groups of four, Formula TV host Irakli Kiknavelidze confirmed to TV Pirveli.
The fire at the business center has been extinguished, Formula TV confirmed.
A fire broke out at a business center on Vazha-Pshavela Avenue in Tbilisi, where the opposition-leaning Formula TV channel is based, prompting the television channel to temporarily suspend broadcasting.
Firefighting and rescue units have been dispatched to the scene and are working to extinguish the fire, while some staff remain inside the building, unable to leave due to heavy smoke. The fire reportedly broke out on the lower floors, while smoke had spread to the upper floors housing the TV station.
According to Formula TV journalist Sopo Vardiashvili, the channel’s 22 staffers remain inside the building, in the newsroom. Vardiashvili, who is also inside, said rescue personnel had advised them that staying in the newsroom was the safest option. They are awaiting further instructions from the rescue teams, she told TV Pirveli.
Earlier, Formula TV presenter Nino Zhizhilashvili appealed to the relevant authorities for assistance, writing on social media that some members of the channel’s team were unable to leave the building due to heavy smoke.
