Fire traps journalists inside Georgian TV station

A fire broke out Wednesday in a business centre housing a Georgian opposition television channel, forcing the broadcaster off air and leaving dozens of journalists trapped inside its smoke-filled newsroom, staff said.

The blaze erupted in the Delisi business centre in Tbilisi, with thick smoke spreading into the Formula television station's studios and newsroom.

Formula journalist Sopho Vardiashvili told Interpress news agency that "22 staff members were stranded in the newsroom, unable to leave" because smoke had engulfed the building's stairwells.

"We are 22 people in the newsroom. For now, we are safe," she said.

"Firefighters came up and told us this was the safest place to stay. We have shut the door because there is heavy smoke everywhere."

She said the building's lifts had been switched off and journalists attempting to escape down the stairs were forced to turn back because of poor visibility.

Formula journalist Nino Zhizhilashvili appealed for urgent assistance on Facebook.

"We have stopped broadcasting. Some of our team cannot get out because of the smoke," she wrote. 

There was no immediate information about casualties or the cause of the fire.