Russian Skyscraper Set to Be Europe’s Tallest Catches Fire - USATODAY.com
Huge flames danced for hours on the top floors of an under-construction Moscow skyscraper that is to be Europe’s tallest, lighting up the night sky Monday. No injuries were reported in the blaze.
The fire at the eastern part of the Federation Tower complex was visible from much of the Russian capital’s western half. Two firefighting helicopters noisily circled the blaze, dumping huge buckets of water on the flames before the Emergencies Ministry said the fire had been stopped from spreading by about 11:30 p.m., some three hours after it broke out.
The cause of the fire, which broke out some 250 meters (880 feet) above street-level, was not immediately known.
The Federation Tower is part of a massive development on the banks of the Moscow River about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) west of the Kremlin.
When completed, it is to consist of two glass-sheathed office towers flanking a mast reaching 560 meters.
The tower that caught on fire is to top out at 360 meters (1,150 feet tall).
That would make it Europe’s tallest building, exceeding the current record-holder, the 302-meter (990-foot) City of Capitals building in the same development as the Federation Tower, and yet another building in the complex, the Mercury City Tower, which is to reach 332 meters (1089 feet).