VIDEO: Entire Fund of Abkhazia's National Gallery Destroyed by Fire

The entire fund of Abkhazia's National Gallery has been destroyed by a fire, which housed nearly 4,000 works by renowned Abkhaz masters. The information was reported by Sputnik Abkhazia, citing comments from the acting Minister of Culture, Dinara Smiri.

The fire broke out in the building of the Central Exhibition Hall in Sukhum at night, with firefighters managing to contain the blaze on the second floor while the roof was entirely consumed by flames.

"These are paintings that we will never be able to restore. For instance, about 300 works by Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze. This is an irreparable loss; unfortunately, nothing could be done," said the minister.

According to her, the entire second floor was filled with smoke, and there was no opportunity to save anything. Smiri added that no one had informed the authorities that the building was in an emergency state from a fire safety perspective.