You're reading: Lifestyle Blog: Chechen complex home to Depardieu goes up in flames

Onlookers gathered in the streets as flames engulfed the Chechen Republic’s tallest tower in southern Russia Wednesday evening, Russian news service RT reported.

News
and photographs of the fire, which first emerged on Twitter, show flames
shooting up the entire side of the Grozny-city complex building.
Early reports suggested the fire began on the bottom floor, though conflicting
accounts have the fire starting at the top of the 40-story, 145 meter building.

(Twitter user @magello05)

The
building, built over the last two years, includes a five-star hotel and luxury
apartments. Famed French actor Gerard Depardieu, who recently made headlines
when he traded his French citizenship for Russian citizenship, was reportedly
presented with an apartment in the building by the Chechen Republic’s
controversial president Ramzan Kadyrov.

Fire units
and ambulances are on scene, as are dozens of bystanders. A spokesperson at
Russia’s emergencies ministry said 100 firefighters and 16 fire engines were
fighting the flames.

Kyiv Post staff writer Christopher J. Miller can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter at @ChristopherJM.