A fire broke out on Thursday in Belém, Brazil, in a crowded hall of the UN climate summit, causing a panicked evacuation of thousands of delegates in the final days of negotiations, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
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Brazilian organizers of the conference, known as COP30, issued a statement saying the fire was "under control and caused no casualties," and that firefighters and security personnel continued to "monitor the situation."
The fire broke out around 2:05 PM local time near the country pavilions at the sprawling COP30 site, where dozens of countries hold exhibition-like presentations and sometimes hand out free coffee to delegates.
As smoke rose, firefighters made their way through a series of tents that make up the summit venue at a former airport on the edge of the Amazon.
A separate "green zone" area, open to the public on Thursday and filled with locals, was also evacuated. Within 45 minutes, people began to be let back in.
Delegates waited outside in Belém's characteristic afternoon rain, some going into cafes and hiding under trees to avoid getting wet.
A week ago, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell warned Brazilian officials about the situation at the event venue, which led to some notable changes, including increased security and more bottled water.
The fire occurred in the final stages of high-level negotiations, where countries were discussing how to bridge the looming gap between countries' climate change plans and the measures needed to keep the global temperature rise to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. The two-week summit is scheduled to conclude on Friday, although negotiations often run over.