News

The Nizhny Novgorod Regional Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal investigation into fire in Sobolikha rural settlement of Gorodets District of Nizhny Novgorod Region under Paragraph C of Part 2 of Article 238 (rendering of services which do not meet standards of safety to lives or health of consumers and have entailed by negligence the death of a person); Part 1 of Article 109 (negligent homicide) of the Criminal Code of Russia.

According to the investigation, in the early morning of November 2, 2018, a three-storey wooden building, situated in the private recreation camp in Sobolikha rural settlement of Gorodets District of Nizhny Novgorod Region, had caught fire.

At the moment, 14 minors and 2 adults had been present in the building. Having found out about the fire, the adults had taken outside 11 children from the second floor. Only two of the boys that had been spending the night on the third floor survived; the third, 10-year-old boy was missing.

During an examination of the scene and taking down of the burnt structure, at 3.30 PM, a body was found - presumably, of the missing boy.

Preliminary data show that, since October 28, 2018, the camp had been hosting in the three-storey wooden building 14 schoolchildren from Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, and Nizhny Novgorod Region, whose parents had bought package tours for their children from a travel agency.

Following the fire, parents of only one boy asked for medical help due to his burn wound of upper airways.

At the moment, investigators of the Investigative Committee continue to conduct immediate investigative activities, including a thorough examination of the scene, arrangement of criminal and forensic examinations, seizure of required documents. The criminal investigation is ongoing.

In addition, during the investigation, the investigators will provide a principal legal assessment of the actions of the travel agency employees who had been rendering services which do not meet standards of safety to lives or health of consumers; as well as of persons in charge of fire safety of wooden structures at the recreational camp.