Two years after the tragedy in Kostanay, a verdict was announced in the case of an explosion in the Amanqeldy residential area. Three people died under the rubble of a car repair shop, reports infohub.kz.
The blast wave damaged residential buildings, various properties, personal belongings, and industrial premises. As a result, 26 victims suffered material damage totaling over 240 million tenge.
The No. 2 Court of Kostanay sentenced entrepreneur Alexey Burdinsky. He is the owner of the car repair shop building where the explosion occurred. At the scene of the emergency, rescuers extracted six people from the rubble, three of whom died. The businessman was tried on several charges, including negligent homicide, careless harm to health, and destruction or damage to another's property.
"Find guilty of criminal offenses under Part 2 of Article 104, Part 3 of Article 114, Part 2 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, and release from criminal liability due to expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution," read Judge Olzhas Bayakov of Court No. 2.
The court found it proven that the building collapsed after a gas explosion caused by excessive pressure in a cylinder. "In the cameras of the destroyed bay, one can see a gas cloud emitted from the wall adjacent to the office, where a Gazelle van was parked. Then workers began walking around the car, looking under it, opening doors to ventilate. In this regard, the court does not see other causes for such consequences. The expert's conclusion that the time from gas emission to explosion was 18–20 minutes, during which the gas-air mixture would have dissipated, is considered speculative. There is no reliable data that the time on the receiver was set correctly," the judge explained in the verdict.
The court granted civil claims totaling over 30 million tenge. The verdict has not entered into legal force.