A fire at a Russian military intelligence base on Sunday killed five servicemen and destroyed important secret documents, news agencies reported, citing military officials.
The blaze rapidly spread through an administrative building of the military intelligence services in the city of Tambov, around 500 kilometres (310 miles) southeast of Moscow.
Two officers and three soldiers died in the fire, the defence ministry said, adding a further seven people were taken to hospital for treatment.
"The fire seriously damaged a secret section which contained particularly important state documents," an official from the Russian special services told news agency RIA-Novosti.
"According to initial reports, the damage is considerable."
Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Kolmakov has visited the site to assess the damage, a defence ministry spokesman told news agency ITAR-TASS
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