The Peace and Friendship Stadium in Athens, the Olympic venue for volleyball, was caught in a big fire early Thursday, a witness said.  

Fire broke out in the stadium at 8:00 am local time (GMT 0600) and six vehicles from the fire department arrived shortly, the witness told Xinhua.

The firemen extinguished the fire in nearly one hour, he said.

In a phone interview, a source in Athens Organizing Committee for Olympic Games confirmed that there was a small fire in the roof of the stadium, but it was extinguished immediately.

He refused to give more details about the damage, the main cause of the fire, and how many firemen were involved.

It's not immediately known the cause of the fire.

Last week, a fire also happened to the International Broadcasting Center around the main Olympic Complex and caused only minor damages.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2004)