Three and a half years after the Mi-8 helicopter crash in the West Kazakhstan Region, the criminal case has finally reached court. Four people died in the tragedy, reports infohub.kz.
The criminal case into the Mi-8 crash is being heard in Court No. 2 of the Baiterek District of the West Kazakhstan Region. The hearings are held under Article 344 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, which provides for liability for violating safety rules for the movement or operation of railway, air, sea, or river transport.
As a reminder, on February 23, 2023, a helicopter of the company Kazaviaspas made a hard landing in the West Kazakhstan Region. The Civil Aviation Committee reported that the helicopter was performing a pipeline overflight ordered by KazTransOil JSC.
Initially, it was reported that there were no fatalities but some injuries. However, it later became known that four people died in the hard landing, and two others were injured.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, there were six people on board: five crew members and one representative of KazTransOil JSC. The ministry added that employees of Kazaviaspas of the Ministry of Emergency Situations died as a result of the hard landing. Footage of the rescue of the injured was also published.
The Department for Investigation of Transport Accidents and Incidents of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan conducted an investigation into the incident.
In addition, the police opened a criminal case under Article 344 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, "Violation of safety rules for the movement or operation of an aircraft, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence." The investigation was supervised by the General Transport Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan.