Los Angeles apartment building fire closes two freeways

An apartment building under construction in central Los Angeles has been destroyed by a huge fire, shutting two major cross-city freeways.

More than 250 firefighters tackled the overnight blaze in the downtown area, which was brought under control early on Monday.

There were no reports of injuries, and it is not thought anyone was in the seven-storey building at the time.

The fire could be seen from miles away, but no cause has been identified.

“It’s a large building, about a block long. The whole building is a total loss. The fire did spread into two neighboring buildings,” said fire department spokesman David Ortiz.

Sections on the 110 and 101 freeways remained closed on Monday morning.