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Probe finished against accused of children killed in Lake Syamozero in Karelia

The Major Cases Directorate of the Investigative Committee has finished the criminal proceedings against 6 people charged with causing death to children in Lake Syamozero in Karelia in 2016. The accused are former head of the Karelia Branch of Rospotrebnadzor (the Russian Consumer Rights Protection Authority) Anatoly Kovalenko, his deputy Lyudmila Kotovich, director of OOO Park Hotel Syamozero Yelena Reshetova, coordinator of the camp of Vadim Vinogradov, instructors of the camp Valery Krupodershchikov and Pavel Ilyin. The Rospotrebnadzor officials are charged with negligence under Part 3 of Article 293, while the head and staff of the camp with unsafe services under Part 3 of Article 238 and endangerment and Article 125 of the RF Penal Code.

The injured parties and their legal representatives are starting to read the case file today.

According to investigators, Yelena Reshetova together with Vadim Vinogradov, Valery Krepodershchikov and Pavel Ilyin aware about a storm warning issued for most districts of Karelia did not cancel a boating trip on 17 June 2016 and arranged for 47 minors to boat on the lake. One of the boats used for the trip had technical flaws. Also, there were too many passengers and the children were not supplied with life jackets of proper size or form.

On 18 June 2016, two canoes with 24 children in them accompanied by Valery Krupodershchikov tipped over in water drowning 14 of the children. Reshetova, Vinogradov and Krupodershchikov deliberately did not notify emergency services about the incident not wanting to get negative response from the public which might undermine the camp’s reputation and inflict financial losses. This way, they left the children in water during a storm.

Significantly, Krupodershchikov and Ilyin provided services to the teenagers under service contracts in accordance with which and the instruction they had personal responsibility for the lives of the children in the camp.

A year before the tragedy Kovalenko and Kotovich of Rospotrebnadzor were aware about multiple violations of law in organization of children’s holidays in Park Hotel Syamozero, including violation of sanitary requirements regulating the operation of children’s camps. Despite all that, the regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor issued Park Hotel Syamozero certificate of conformity allowing the camp to keep on operating. This way, the death of 14 children were due to Kovalenko and Kotovich having failed to perform their duties and to take proper steps to eliminate the violations up until the camp was closed.

The investigators are still working to collect additional evidence to find out all the circumstances surrounding the tragedy and to prosecute other people involved in the crime and their accomplices.

Official spokesperson for the RF Investigative Committee                                                                      S.L. Petrenko