Olympic torch relay suffers another mishap [Video]
The torch relay for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Olympics has hit another bump in its long and winding road to the opening ceremonies.
Video from the small city of Kostroma, near Moscow, shows the torch erupting suddenly, flames shooting several feet into the air.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, the head of the Sochi organizing committee, acknowledged there was a “strong flame” but denied initial media reports that a 13-year-old girl was burned in the incident.
“There were no burns, the torch did not explode in the hands of the participant,” Chernyshenko told RIA Novosti.
At the start of the months-long relay, as the torch was being carried along Moscow streets, the flame briefly went out. It was relighted by a man with a cigarette lighter.
The 41,000-mile trek -- longest in Olympic history -- is scheduled to reach the Bering Strait before turning back toward Sochi for the Feb. 7 start of the Games. The flame is to be carried by plane, train, car and a reindeer-drawn sleigh, with about 14,000 bearers scheduled to participate.
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