The fire sent plumes of smoke into the sky above Rio de Janeiro A fire has broken out in the carnival district of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, destroying warehouses where floats are made, reports say.
At least four warehouses, a samba school and a carnival museum have been damaged in the blaze at Samba City.
It is unclear if anyone was injured in the fire, which spread quickly because of the quantity of flammable materials.
Rio's world-famous carnival, due to begin on 4 March, attracts thousands of tourists and people from across Brazil.
A large plume of black smoke can be seen above the purpose-built Sambadrome - where the parade takes place - located near the city's port.
'Heartbroken'
According to reports, the fire erupted well before employees were due at work. No victims have been reported so far.
Some 90% of costumes in the damaged warehouses have been destroyed, according to O Globo.
The president of the samba group alliance - whose schools perform at the carnival event - described the loss as "tremendous", according to Globo TV's website.
But he vowed that the carnival would go ahead as planned, even though there would not be time to recreate everything lost in the fire.
"We are heartbroken," Mr Castanheria said. "Everything was practically ready for the carnival."
Up to 700,000 international tourists attend the event each year, mainly from the US and Europe.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-latin-america-12382064
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