14:14, 21 January 2024Source: 

Ministry of Emergency Situations of Abkhazia

A fire occurred in the building of the Central Exhibition Hall in Sukhumi, which houses the National Art Gallery, on the night of January 21, reports the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia.

“The second floor of the building caught fire. The signal about the incident was received at the duty station at 03:38. 11 fire crews extinguished the fire. At the moment, the fire has been localized and virtually extinguished,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement. 

According to preliminary data, thousands of paintings burned during the fire. “You could say everything burned down. The holdings of the National Art Gallery, more than four thousand copies, were located on the second floor of the building. Among them are up to 300 works by Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze. This is an irreparable loss for the national culture of Abkhazia,” the Apsnypress agency quotes the words of the acting Minister of Culture Dinara Smyr. 

Smyr later clarified that about 150 paintings were saved. “The analysis of the rubble after the fire is still ongoing, we are discovering fragments of paintings,” she added. 

Gallery director Suram Sakania, citing eyewitnesses, clarified that the fire started from the roof. “Since the ceiling and structure are wooden, the flame spread quickly, and the people who arrived here at five o’clock were not only able to extinguish the fire, but they couldn’t even get close. As you can see, our premises were badly burned. The ceiling collapsed, the roof collapsed,” TASS quotes the director as saying.

At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Abkhazia reported that it was considering arson as one of the possible causes of the fire. “In response to the fire in the Central Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of Abkhazia, a fire-technical examination has been appointed. According to preliminary data, the fire occurred at approximately 03:30. All possible versions of the fire are being considered, including arson,” the department writes . 

In turn, the President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania instructed the Prosecutor General’s Office to thoroughly investigate the causes of the fire, the presidential press service reports

(C)MEDUZA 2024