This screen grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows emergency crews battling a fire that broke out at a pavilion inside the venue of the COP30 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para state, Brazil, on November 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP
A fire broke out at the COP30 venue in Belem, Brazil on Thursday (November 20, 2025). No injuries have been reported so far.
At the site of the fire, about 20 members of the Indian delegation, including Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, were present. A spokesperson said they have moved to a safe zone and out of harms way.
The fire was reported in the health and science pavilion on the next-to-last scheduled day of the conference, said Victoria Martins and Júlia Aguiar, technical personnel with the event. Officials were seeking to evacuate the building, they said.
The fire forced an evacuation as panicked delegates ran for the exits. U.N. and security crews rushed with extinguishers to try to put out the blaze at the COP30 site in Belem, with smoke engulfing the corridor.
Firefighters arrived at the scene as smoke billowed inside and out of the conference building.
The fire took place as Ministers from around the world were deep in negotiations aimed at breaking a deadlock over fossil fuels, climate finance and trade measures, with one day left in the two-week conference.
However, the fire has been brought under control, causing no injuries, Brazil’s Tourism Minister Celso Sabino said. “The incident has already been contained,” Mr. Sabino said on Brazilian television.
(With inputs from AFP, AP)
Published – November 20, 2025 11:29 pm IST
