Video: Russian Olympic torch erupts in three-foot flames during relay

KOSTROMA, Russia, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The Olympic torch erupted in flames during a nationwide relay in Russia ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, an online video indicates.

The recording shows the torch shooting flames more than 3 feet long, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday, before officials seized it.

The incident took place Oct. 18 as the torch passed through Kostroma, a small city near Moscow.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the head of the Sochi Organizing Committee, said in a statement that the torch emitted a "strong flame."

He denied media reports an explosion had taken place and that someone had been injured.

"There were no burns, the torch did not explode in the hands of the participant," he said.

The torch, which was made in a Siberian factory that also makes ballistic missiles, has already extinguished itself several times, RIA Novosti said.

The relay, which will cover 41,140 miles, is in its beginning stages.