MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russian Emergencies Minister Evgeny Zinichev expressed condolences to the relatives and friends of a firefighter, who died when extinguishing a blaze in St. Petersburg’s Nevskaya Manufactura factory, the ministry’s press service told TASS.

"The Russian Emergencies Minister offered condolences to the relatives and friends of an employee, who was killed when putting out the fire in the administrative building of Nevskaya Manufactura in St. Petersburg. The ministry will provide comprehensive assistance and support to the injured firefighters and relatives and friends of the dead employee," the press service said.

The firefighting effort is ongoing, involving more than 350 personnel and 73 pieces of equipment.

The blaze in the Nevskaya Manufactura factory started on Monday morning. At 10.22 p.m. the fire was localized on the area of 10,000 square meters. One firefighter died battling it, two more were rushed to the hospital with burns. One of them sustained burns up to 60% of his body.