Tallest Skyscraper In Chechnya Engulfed By Huge Fire

A 475-foot tall skyscraper in Chechen capital of Grozny caught fire Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

Russia Today reports the 40-story-high Olympus Tower in the Grozny City complex is the tallest building in Chechnya, and the tallest in South Caucasus region. Another 65-story building in the same complex will be the tallest Russian building outside of Moscow when it is completed.

The building houses apartments and a five-star hotel, identified by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as the Olimp Hotel. All people inside the building were evacuated and Ria Novosti reports that none of the evacuees needed medical treatment.

One source told Ria Novosti all floors of the skyscraper, except the ground floor, caught fire. According to CNN the fire was put out early on Thursday.

LifeNews.ru is reporting that a short circuit caused the fire, and that it spread quickly due to "plastic sheathing and insulation" on the building.

A total of 285 people and 68 pieces of equipment, including helicopters, fought the blaze, but struggled to keep it under control, according to LifeNews.ru.

Images posted to Twitter appear to show almost half the building engulfed in the fire:

This video shows a large amount of smoke coming from the building:

Another video shows from how far away the smoke can be seen:

The Grozny City complex was part of an ambitious attempt to rebuild Grozny — devastated by wars and terrorism in the past two decades — into a modern city. Here's how the New York Times described the development in 2011:

The buildings look out from as high as 45 stories over an entirely new city, with parks and broad avenues, fountains and flower beds, and hardly a scratch to remind it of more than a decade of separatist warfare.

According Itar-Tass news agency, French actor Gerard Depardieu owns an apartment in the building, a gift from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.