Following a request of the Volgograd Office of the Investigative Committee a court has ruled today to remand in custody pending trial suspects of a gas explosion in a block of flats in Universitetsky Avenue in the city of Volgograd. The three men are suspected of execution of unsafe work entailing death of two or more people under Part 3 of Article 238 of the RF Penal Code.

The owner of a shop, his father and a worker who investigators believe are guilty of causing death to four people, injuries to several others and leaving dozens of families homeless will spend next two months behind bars.

The explosion took place on 16 May 2017. A gas pipe had been damaged when the worker tried to connect a small shop to the city water supply systems. The explosion tore through the block of flats. Within next few hours after the explosion the investigators revealed that the work had been executed illegally by the worker employed via a job advertisement, who had neither training nor license to perform that kind of job. The worker was aware that the shop owner had no authorization, but still used improvised equipment and tried to prick soil under a road where he damaged the gas pipe. Though rescuers arrived immediately, the impact was terrible and irreversible.

At present, the investigators keep on looking into all the circumstances surrounding the incident. A number of investigative operations are underway to collect and document evidence.