A huge fire ripped through more than 16 floors of Venezuela's highest tower on Sunday, in a Caracas complex housing dozens of government ministries and state agencies, but there were no casualties, officials said. Clouds of thick smoke and flames engulfed the upper half of the 56-floor East Tower of the Parque Central block after the fire ignited around midnight in the 34th-floor offices belonging to Ministry of Infrastructure. The fire was still burning on Sunday afternoon, and officials evacuated the area as a precaution in case the top half of the building collapsed. At least 13 firefighters were treated for the effects of toxic fumes after struggling to control the fire, officials said. Most of the offices were closed for the weekend. "We should thank God the fire started when no one was up there who could have been trapped," Rodolfo Briceno, Caracas fire chief, told reporters. Firefighters requested help from the emergency services of the army and the Energy Ministry and called for military helicopters to dump water on the fire.
