MOSCOW, August 16 (RIA Novosti) – A court in Grozny, capital of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, has found a worker guilty of causing a fire in a local skyscraper four months ago and fined him, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported Friday.
The worker, Magomed-Amin Amirov, “used a gas cylinder with a hose and burner to affix tar paper, in violation of fire safety rules, while performing work on the fourth floor terrace of the 42-story Grozny-City complex on April 3, 2013,” the office said in a statement.
As a result, the ceiling caught on fire, and the blaze spread to other floors. No one was injured, but dozens were evacuated.
Amirov admitted his guilt. He was fined 50,000 rubles ($1,500), though the fire reportedly caused damage of about 332 million rubles ($10 million).
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has pledged to restore the skyscraper, which was not seriously damaged inside. The Grozny-City complex was built in 2009-2011.
