Russian billionaire badly hurt in crash in France

NICE, France, Nov 27: Russian billionaire and parliamentarian Suleiman Kerimov was in a critical condition today after his car crashed and caught fire on the French Mediterranean coast, a hospital spokesman said.

Kerimov was being treated in hospital in the city of Marseille after his black sports car crashed on Saturday on the chic Promenade des Anglais, a boulevard which runs along the coast in the city of Nice, a police spokesman said.

''He's in a critical condition,'' a spokesman at the hospital in Marseille said, adding Kerimov had suffered burns. ''He is on artificial respiration.'' Kerimov, 41, is worth 7.1 billion dollars according to Forbes magazine, which put him at 72 in its annual survey of the world's richest people and 11th richest among Russians.

He was born in Russia's southern region of Dagestan near the troubled region of Chechnya and owns big stakes in gas monopoly Gazprom and Russia's largest bank, Sberbank.

He also controls Russian silver mining company Polymetal, which plans an initial public share offering in January.

Police said a young woman was also in Kerimov's car at the time of the crash and also suffered injuries. Her name was not released.

REUTERS