Grozny Luxury skyscraper hotel destroyed in massive blaze,French actor Depardieu's apartment damaged.

Grozny Luxury skyscraper hotel destroyed in massive blaze,French actor Depardieu's apartment damaged.(RT).The blaze that had engulfed the tallest skyscraper in the North Caucasus region of Russia, has been put out, leaving the building almost completely destroyed.

According to information given by local emergency services, the fire that had engulfed the 'Grozny City' skyscraper on Wednesday, was put out in the early hours of Thursday, at 1:30 AM. The blaze has left the 40-floor building in a state of near-complete destruction.

The local emergency service said the call about the fire on between the 4th and 5th floors was received at around 18:00 PM local time (14:00 GMT).

According to witnesses’ pictures that immediately started to appear on Twitter, all stories of the building had been covered in flames. In two hours the fire had completely engulfed three sides of the skyscraper from top to bottom, as the flames spread rapidly due to the plastic trimming on the building. It had also reached the world's largest clock face, located near the apex of the building.

Firefighters had managed to extinguish the flames on the lower floors. However, the fire spread very quickly, making it difficult to tackle the blaze from the ground. Helicopters have been sent from the southern city of Pyatigorsk to help out, but have not received the go-ahead for lift-off.

"We are ready, but the helicopters won't be able to maneuver between the buildings, which are packed tight," said emergency ministry official Aleksandr Barsuk.

In the burning skyscrapers, known collectively as 'Olympus', is an apartment belonging to French film star and tax exile Gerard Depardieu. LifeNews tabloid reports local administration confirmed the Frenchman’s apartment is on the 27th floor, facing the so-called 'heart of Grozny'- central mosque.

“The fire has completely enveloped the right-hand side of the skyscraper. Both the wall and the window of the actor’s apartment have been damaged,” the tabloid quoted a local police source as saying. The Grozny-City complex was partly open in 2011. It consists of seven skyscrapers both condominiums and a hotel: one 40-storey (currently on fire), one 30-storey, three 28-storey and two 18-storey buildings. The completed complex would boast 1000 apartments.

"We will reconstruct the building, and make it more beautiful with help from Allah," said Kadyrov on his Instagram account. Hmmmm......The lord works in mysterious ways, you think he works for the French IRS?Read the full story here.

First Depardieu[ivitch] now Bardot[ivitch] - Brigitte Bardot: "Spare elephants or I'm off to Russia."

Depardieu in the role of 'Rasputin'.

First Depardieu[ivitch] now Bardot[ivitch] - Brigitte Bardot: "Spare elephants or I'm off to Russia."(HD).French cinema legend Brigitte Bardot on Friday threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu to Russia unless two elephants under threat of being put down are granted a reprieve.
In a surreal twist to the saga over Depardieu's move into tax exile, the veteran animal rights campaigner said she would emulate his request for Russian nationality unless authorities intervened to save Baby and Nepal.
The two elephants face being put down because they have been diagnosed with tuberculosis and have been deemed a threat to the health of other animals and visitors to the Tete d'Or zoo in Lyon.
City authorities ordered the elephants to be put down last month but a petition organised by their original owner, circus master Gilbert Edelstein, resulted in them being granted a temporary reprieve over Christmas.
Bardot said in a statement she would be leaving France if the reprieve was not made permanent.
"If the powers that be have the cowardice and the shamelessness to kill Baby and Nepal... I have decided to take Russian nationality and quit this country that is nothing more an animal cemetery," Bardot said.
Bardot, 77, has been a high-profile supporter of Depardieu in his spat with the French government over his decision to take up residence in neighbouring Belgium for tax reasons.
She said last month that her fellow actor, who was branded "pathetic" by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, had been the "victim of extremely unfair persecution".Hmmmm....France and Russia always had an 'attraction for each other'.Read the full story here.

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