The police of the Murmansk region opened a criminal case after the disappearance of an inactive railway bridge across the Umba River in the area of ​​the deserted village of Oktyabrsky near Kirovsk. The case was initiated under paragraph. «In» h. 3 Article. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (large-scale theft), the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Murmansk region told RT.

They clarified that the investigation began last week, but the regional police commander-in-chief decided not to give an official report on this.

The official representative of the department, Valeria Filippova, also told RT that there are no suspects in the theft of metal structures with a length of 23 meters and a weight of 56 tons.

She added that the owner of the bridge was established. It is one of the organizations of the Kirov region. According to the owners of the structure, the material damage from theft of the bridge amounted to 600 thousand rubles.

It was not immediately possible to determine the owner of the bridge. With a statement about the disappearance of the design was initially addressed by one of the local residents. The company that owns the bridge prepared a similar document only after law enforcement officers came to its office.

In the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Murmansk region promised to inform the public about the progress of the investigation into the disappearance of the bridge, which is considered to be the object of unfinished construction.

"Pulled into the water and dismantled"

On May 26, it became known about the disappearance of the design, when readers of the “VKontakte” public post wrote about this fact in “Severe reality | Apatity Kirovsk Monchegorsk ".

“In Kirovsk, the central span of the bridge over the Umba River was stolen on the Kirovsk-Oktyabrsky road, located four kilometers from Oktyabrsky. A statement about the theft of the bridge was written to the police by a resident of the village of Koashva. The owner of the abandoned bridge is unknown, before it passed the railway line to Revda, but a few years ago it was completely dismantled - only sleepers and embankments remained, ”the author of the post said.

Local residents also noticed that there were no photographs of the bridge span made on the evening of May 26, and nothing sticks out of the water, although a large metal object was sticking out of the water on May 16, which appeared to have flown into the water.

“Natural phenomena could not bring down the bridge. Even if an ice-drift is brought here, then it is strange, why the neighboring automobile, lower, bridge did not demolish. Most likely, the metalworkers pulled the structure down into the water, and there they didn’t take it apart in details, ”the author suggested in the same group.

Many federal media outlets immediately noticed the extraordinary event, the incident was the reason for heated discussions and jokes in social networks.

On Tuesday, it became known that the regional prosecutor's office confirmed the legality of initiating a criminal case by the police.

According to local residents, the disappearance of the structure could have occurred on the night of May 17-18, however how the unknown managed to extract the multi-ton structure from the water so quickly, disassemble it into parts and remove it while it is not clear.

Right next to the destroyed bridge there is a functioning road bridge, which was not damaged from the actions of the intruders. What can not be said about abandoned power transmission towers, which, according to residents of the region, unknown persons abducted in Kirovsk and Apatity last year.

Meanwhile, on Monday, June 3, it became known that in the Tomsk region attackers had stolen a 100-meter section of the only road that leads to the village of Kataiga, Verkhneketsky district, where about a thousand people live. The dirt road was lined with concrete slabs and is actively used by both lumberjacks and locals.

The abductors loaded about 150 plates into six trucks, but were detained by police, who are now conducting an investigation of this incident.

In December 2007, unknown attackers stole a functioning road bridge that passed over the heating main. The owner, Khabarovsk Heating Network Company (HTSC), reported that the bridge led from the Khabarovsk CHP-3 to the village of Topolevo. The company estimated the direct damage from the theft at 400 thousand rubles, and the cost of restoring the bridge was estimated at one million rubles.