A court in Aktobe has sentenced the owner of a gas filling station where a fire killed a 45-year-old woman and her two daughters, aged ten and six, to four years in prison, the website infohub.kz reports.

The verdict was announced on October 16. The convicted man will serve his sentence in a minimum-security colony. Prosecutors had sought the same term. The sentence has not yet entered into force and can be appealed.

The victims' relatives forgave the defendant and reached a mediation agreement with him.

The tragedy occurred in June 2026. The family was driving to the city in a Honda owned by the girls' uncle to go shopping. Along the way, they decided to refill a household gas cylinder intended for their summer kitchen.

According to the man, the operator agreed to fill the cylinder without removing it from the trunk. The container was designed for 30 liters, but the meter showed 42 liters during filling. The man began shouting at the worker to stop, but the young operator could not find the stop button. An explosion and fire followed.

The girls' father was outside at the time. His 54-year-old brother, who was driving, suffered severe burns. The woman and children remained in the burning cabin. Their bodies were found after the fire was extinguished.

"My wife and children had gone to the toilet before that. I thought they weren't in the car. My brother told me later that they had stayed inside," the victim said in court.

After the fire, police opened a criminal case under Article 281 of the Criminal Code, concerning violations of safety rules at explosive facilities. The gas station owner was detained, and the trial began on September 7.

The girls' father said he agreed to the mediation agreement after much thought and conversations with his wife's relatives.

"It is very hard for me, but I have come to terms with it. I thought a lot, consulted with my wife's relatives and agreed to a mediation agreement with the defendant. I have forgiven him," he said.

The gas station owner asked for a lighter sentence and for the reconciliation with the victims to be taken into account. According to him, he fully compensated the material and moral damage.

The defendant also said that a temporary operator was working at the station on the day of the tragedy, and that his younger brother, a student, took over in the evening. The owner claimed he regularly conducted safety briefings for employees.

In court, he also raised the issue of filling household cylinders. According to him, this is prohibited at gas stations, but people continue to approach operators because they do not know where else to fill such containers.