A fire broke out at Lithuania’s Medininkai border checkpoint with Belarus in the early morning on Thursday. One customs employee was injured in the fire.
Due to the fire, traffic at the checkpoint has been suspended in both directions, Giedrius Mišutis, a representative of the State Border Guard Service, told Elta news agency.
“The damage caused by the fire is certainly considerable,” he said.
Firefighters were dispatched to the border crossing after the fire in Vilnius Territorial Customs hangar was reported at around 2:40.
According to the Fire and Rescue Department, the blaze was put out at around 7:00.
“The fire has been put out, but firefighters are still working at the scene. They are dismantling the structures, pouring water over them,” Edita Zdanevičienė, a spokesperson for the Fire and Rescue Department, told Elta on Thursday morning.
The Vilnius Territorial Customs hangar at the Medininkai border checkpoint caught fire while officers were checking a car with smuggled cigarettes coming from Belarus, said Irmina Frolova-Milašienė, a spokesperson for the Customs Department.
“A car with smuggled cigarettes was being inspected, and it was the source of the fire. A detailed inspection was needed, and during that detailed inspection the fire broke out,” she told Elta.
When the fire broke out, the officers retreated from the car and called the fire brigade. While waiting for the firefighters, the fire spread.
Traffic through the Medininkai border checkpoint resumed at 13:30 on Thursday.
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