MOSCOW - A massive fire broke out late Tuesday at a facility owned by an industrial firm in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg, Russian news agencies reported.

The fire broke out in the northeastern Vyborg district of the former capital and spread to cover an area of 6,000 square metres (65,000 square feet), the reports said, quoting the local emergency services.

By 11:20 pm local time (2020 GMT) "the fire was localized" a source from the emergencies ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency.

"At the current time work is continuing to liquidate it," the source added.

The blaze was labelled a grade five, the most serious level on the Russian scale for fires. Two people were injured while dozens of fire engines were sent to the scene.

Spectacular fires are not uncommon in Russia where ageing infrastructure and faulty electrics are often blamed for starting blazes.

An emergencies ministry source told the Interfax news agency that the fire had been especially severe as it had been discovered very late and the building lacked firewalls and automatic extinguishing systems.