ST. PETERSBURG, May 23 (RIA Novosti) - A fire that broke out on Friday at a weapons depot near St. Petersburg has been put out, and no casualties have been reported, a Russian Air Force spokesman said on Friday.

Earlier a military source said that air-to-air missiles were exploding at the weapons depot and that all residents of the nearby military base were being evacuated.

Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky said the cause of the fire remains unclear. "The fire could have been cause by burning of grass. All versions will be verified later," he said.

The fire broke out at 2.50 p.m. Moscow time (10.50 a.m. GMT), and raged for about 40 minutes. The evacuation was cancelled when the fire stopped.

The nearby Pulkovo airport and rail line continued operations without interruption.