On the evening of Saturday, January 26, a gas clap occurred in one of the cafes in the Saratov region, as a result of which one person died and another 35 were injured. Investigators opened a criminal case, the press service of the Investigation Department of the Regional Investigation Agency reports.
“A criminal case has been opened on the grounds of a crime, provided for by paragraph.“ C ”of Part 2 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the provision of services that do not meet the safety requirements, resulting in serious bodily harm), ”reads the statement.
According to the ministry, the incident occurred in the urban-type settlement of Lysiye Gory in a cafe owned by a local self-employed entrepreneur. In the back room due to leakage, the cause of which is not yet known, the gas cylinder exploded.
At this point, the institution celebrated the anniversary of one of the locals.
According to preliminary data, as a result of emergency 22 people received injuries of varying severity, 14 of them were hospitalized, one man died.
“The deceased is a man born in 1959, it was he who celebrated his birthday in a cafe on January 23,” TASS quoted the representative of the agency.
According to the Lysogorsk district hospital, the deceased received 90% of body burns.
Currently, the investigative team conducts interrogations of the institution’s management, personnel, and also witnesses of the incident. The staff of the Investigation Committee seized the necessary documentation and appointed fire-technical and forensic examinations.
Meanwhile, the press service of the prosecutor's office of the Saratov region clarified that there was two cotton gas.
"The expert believes that one of the claps is an explosion of a cylinder," the RIA Novosti quotes a spokesman for the regional prosecutor's office.
At the same time, Eduard Kutorov, chairman of the commission for the prevention of emergency situations and fire safety in the Lysogoros district, noted that the cafe was connected to the gas network, but the gas boiler was not damaged as a result of the incident.
“Gas was let in, the boiler was in place,” he said.
As reported in the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, information about the fire in the cafe arrived at 17:56 local time (16:56 Moscow time), after 14 minutes a fire on an area of 55 sq.m. was eliminated. At the time of the incident in the institution were 35 people. including three children.
“Everyone has been hospitalized in the state health institution“ Lysogorskaya RB ”. Six people in serious condition (no children). 29 people on examination - approximately 2–7% burns, ”the agency said in a statement.
The law enforcement authorities noticed that the majority of victims suffered burns due to the fact that the stretch ceiling, from which “drops of fire” were falling, melted.
Another victim was an employee of the rescue service, who was nearby at the time of the explosion of the gas cylinder. 37-year-old man helped pull out the victims and received severe burns. This was announced by the head of the regional department Yury Yurin.
The chairman of the Saratov Regional Duma, Ivan Kuzmin, after the state of emergency, stated the need to inspect all small cafes for compliance with fire safety requirements.
“I am sure that in matters relating to security, it is necessary to act proactively. Any tragedy is easier to prevent. But this is possible only with the coordinated work of the inspectors, the personal interest of the founders in the safety of their guests and employees, ”he stressed.
According to him, it is also necessary to check the actions of the owners and staff of the cafe, as well as those who gave permission for his work.
“Violation of security requirements leads to sad consequences. I am sure that the investigating authorities will sort out the causes of emergency in the Bald Mountains, but now we can talk about the negligent attitude of the cafe owners to their duties. The propane gas cylinder was in a closed utility room, and the campers did not even know about the threat of an explosion, ”Kuzmin said.
In turn, State Duma deputy from the Saratov region Nikolai Pankov also pointed out the need to increase the requirements for small businesses to ensure security.
“The technical explosion of gas in Lysy Hills speaks about the weak responsibility of the cafe owners ... I am sure that demands should be made to private, even roadside cafes, as well as large enterprises,” said Pankov.