A fire that engulfed an unoccupied luxury skyscraper in Grozny, Russia, was extinguished early Thursday morning, according to RIA Novosti.
The 40-story showpiece apartment-and-hotel building is the tallest tower in Chechnya — and is the centerpiece of an effort by local authorities to promote republic’s capital city as “modern and glamorous,” reported the news site RT.
Emergency service officials said the flames, which were caused by an electrical short circuit, destroyed the plastic trimming on the outside of the building. The interior, however, was untouched, according to RIA Novosti.
No one was killed or injured, but officials said 30 people were evacuated from the 475-foot tower.
More than 100 firefighters and 16 fire engines fought the blaze, a spokesman said. A police source told RIA Novosti that fire spread to all floors above the one at ground level.
The building that houses a 5-star hotel also has the world’s largest round clock. It is part of the Grozny-City complex, which has seven skyscrapers and which began to open to the public in 2011.
French actor Gerard Depardieu reportedly owns an apartment in a neighboring 27-story building. Chechen Republic’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov presented the movie star with the pad when he visited in February, RIA Novosti reported.
“We will restore this building with God’s help and use the most state-of-the art technologies to make it even better and more beautiful,” Kadyrov wrote in Russian on his Instagram page.
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