A road incident in central Astana turned into a headache for a local resident when her car struck a manhole cover, causing serious damage to her recently purchased vehicle. The owner, Zarina Tazhibayeva, shared the news on her Instagram profile, posting a video of the aftermath, according to infohub.kz.
"This is the first time I've encountered such a situation. I want to warn you — no one is immune to this. We were simply driving in our lane when we hit a closed manhole and ended up with these consequences," she said. She emphasized that the vehicle had been bought very recently.
The Astana city akimat's City Monitoring and Rapid Response Center responded to the incident. "At the address mentioned, the manhole was closed before the crew arrived. Currently, the manhole is closed, poses no threat, and does not obstruct traffic," the center said. On the issue of compensation for material damage, the agency recommended going to court.
Astana police also commented on the incident. "The driver of a LYNK-CO 900, while driving along Turkestan Street, struck a manhole cover. As a result of the cover shifting (flying off), the vehicle sustained mechanical damage," police said. They added that the incident has been registered in accordance with established procedures, and verification measures are underway to make a procedural decision.