Tatarstan investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have charged CEO of OOO Zarya, the firm that leased the Admiral chopping center, Guseyn Gakhramanov, 30 and his deputy Nikolai Kayekin, 34 with a crime under part 3 of article 219 of the RF Penal Code (violation of fire safety requirements entailing be negligence death of two or more people).
According to investigators Gakhramanov and Kayekin failed to install sprinklers or smoke ventilation, did not agreed corresponding fire safety documents, which eventually became one of the causes of the fire. Gakhramanov has partially admitted his guilt, while Kayekin has not admitted it. Following a request filed by the investigators, a court has ruled to place them in custody pending trial.
In addition, the investigators have detained former executor of inter-district department of the regional Office of the Federal Bailiffs Service Minzilya Safina, 25. Soon the investigator is going to request the court to put her under house arrest.
In 2013, prosecutor’s office authorities checked if OOO Zarya followed fire regulations in operation of the Admiral shopping center and found a lot of violations there. Following the check an action was filed with the court requesting elimination of all the violations. However, on 12 November 2013, Safina finished the enforcement proceeding on OOO Zarya in connection with its alleged actual execution. A repeated check in 2014, revealed that over half of the violations remained in place. Namely, the shopping center was not divided into compartments in accordance with a maximum allowed area. The building did not have fire exhaust ventilation to remove the smoke in case of a fire. There was no pumping station for automated fire-control units and for raising pressure in internal fire water supply system. Power lines had no protecting cutout devices that prevent fires in case of faulty collectors. As a result the prosecutor’s office filed a protest and resumed the enforcement proceeding against OOO Zarya.
In the afternoon of 11 March 2015, a fire 18.2 thousand square meters in area started at the Admiral shopping center in the city of Kazan. According to the latest data 23 people were injured and 17 were killed in the fire: 13 of them were found under the debris and 4 died at hospital.
During the probe the investigators are going to reasons and conditions that contributed to the crime and there is no doubt that the Investigative Committee will bring all the guilty in the tragedy to justice.
Head of Media Relations V.I. Markin
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