MOSCOW, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Olympic torch relay to Sochi, Russia, began with an accidental extinguishing of the flame in Moscow and quick work with a Zippo lighter to re-ignite it.
A torch bearer carried the torch through a corridor in the Kremlin, after it was lit over the weekend in a Red Square ceremony in which Russian President Vladimir Putin participated, and a burst of wind momentarily extinguished the flame. An unidentified man, possibly a member of Putin's security team, re-lit the torch with his cigarette lighter, the Los Angeles Times said.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of the Sochi organizing committee, said a valve on the torch was not fully opened, causing the flame-out.
The American lighter company Zippo took immediate advantage by posting a video of the incident on the Internet with the phrase "Zippo Saves Olympics," the newspaper said.
The flame will be transported around Russia in a 40,000-mile journey by 14,000 torch bearers, and arrive in Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics by Feb. 7.
