Russia's Ozon asks government for loan after warehouse fire -Ifax cites source

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian e-commerce company Ozon wrote to the government asking for a preferential loan to improve fire safety at its facilities days after a huge blaze at its warehouse near Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a source.

At least one person was killed and 13 injured in the blaze, the RIA news agency quoted a source in the emergency services as saying on Aug. 3.

Ozon at the time said the fate of two people in the warehouse was not known.

Ozon sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, asking for a loan and for a plot of land in the Moscow region to build a new logistics facility.

Ozon declined to comment on the matter.

The company said the incident at the Novaya Riga warehouse, which accounted for about 7% of the company's total logistics space, posed no significant risks to its liquidity or operations.

"Nevertheless, the question of the further area expansion and space 'replenishment' of Novaya Riga will be relevant in the future," Ozon said.

"There is no exact assessment of the scale of the damage yet," Ozon said. Around one third of goods stored at the warehouse avoided being damaged.

(Reporting by Olga Popova; writing by Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason Neely)