Five people died as a result of an explosion in the Khabarovsk Territory

On Friday night in the village of Korfovsky (Khabarovsk Territory), an explosion completely destroyed the entrance to a three-story brick residential building in which there were 15 people. Five of them, according to preliminary data, died, three were seriously injured, and they are still looking for another one. A state of emergency has been declared in the area, the regional authorities have already promised to pay up to 500 thousand rubles. the dead and compensate the losses of the injured. The investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the region opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (causing death by negligence to two or more persons). The force of the explosion suggests that not just gas could have detonated, but also an unknown device - according to one version, it could have been sticks of dynamite.

Photo: Kommersant / Evgeniy Pereverzev / buy photo

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Photo: Kommersant / Evgeniy Pereverzev / buy photo

The explosion occurred in a brick house No. 12 on Geologov Street in the village of Korfovsky on October 30 at about 1:00 local time (October 29, 18:00 Moscow time) and was initially reported as a household gas explosion. However, as soon as the emergency services arrived at the scene, it became obvious that the scale of the destruction was very serious. All three floors of one of the building's entrances collapsed, leaving only a brick wall standing on one side. Clearing the rubble is complicated by the fact that a heating main and a power line run near the house. And the force of the explosion was such that one of the blankets, flying out of the window, flew 15–20 m and hung on a power line support - in front of the Kommersant correspondent, the Ministry of Emergency Situations employees, who were not involved in clearing the rubble, removed it from there with a long stick.

“Destructive incidents on this scale have not happened for a long time”

According to data released by the regional emergency commission, a total of 66 people lived in the house, including 51 in two entrances that were not affected by the explosion and 15 in the one that was destroyed. Six residents were almost unharmed, five died. Three more were recovered from the rubble in serious condition, including a three-year-old girl: she was found on the first floor three hours after the explosion. “They are looking for another person while he is listed as missing, but there is still hope of finding him. According to preliminary information from neighbors, he could have gone somewhere on his own,” said Anatoly Litvinchuk, deputy chairman of the Khabarovsk Territory government for fuel and energy complex and housing and communal services, who conducted the commission.

The adult victims were taken to Khabarovsk Regional Clinical Hospital No. 2 - about 30 km from the regional capital from Korfovsky, the child was hospitalized in a children's hospital. The girl’s condition is very serious due to hypothermia: at night it was 5-7 degrees below zero outside.

The Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Khabarovsk Territory opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (causing death by negligence to two or more persons). The head of the Investigative Directorate, Pyotr Reshetnikov, went to the scene.

A press release from the Investigative Committee states that a household gas explosion is being considered as the main version of the collapse of part of a residential building. “In parallel with clearing the rubble, investigators are inspecting the scene of the incident and establishing the epicenter of the explosion. The investigation is considering a domestic gas explosion as the main version,” confirmed Ilya Gudkov, senior assistant to the head of the ICR department for the Khabarovsk Territory. As Mr. Gudkov noted, “several versions of what happened are being worked out at once.” The Investigative Committee added that interrogations of victims and witnesses are ongoing.

The main version of the collapse of part of a residential building in the Khabarovsk Territory is a household gas explosion https://t.co/MI2221zRv6
— Investigative Committee (@sledcom_rf) October 30, 2015

Anatoly Litvinchuk also stated that something else could have exploded in Korfovsky. “Nobody denies that there was an explosion. The only thing is whether it was a gas explosion or some other device, it’s hard to say. But very strong. It rarely happened that from the third floor to the basement half of the structural elements failed. Therefore, I think experts will give an assessment in the near future,” the official said. “Perhaps someone made homemade explosive devices for their own purposes - to kill fish, for example, such an option is not excluded,” added Mr. Litvinchuk.

A source in the region's law enforcement agencies told TASS that one of the residents of this house in the village of Korfovsky was engaged in theft and resale of explosives. “One of the residents of the house where the explosion occurred obtained explosives from military warehouses and resold them. Perhaps it could have detonated during a domestic gas explosion in the entrance, which completely collapsed after the explosion,” the agency’s source said.

In the Khabarovsk region, to which Korfovsky belongs, a state of emergency has been declared. The regional authorities have already promised to provide assistance to all victims: 10 thousand rubles each. per victim, 50–100 thousand rubles. for loss of property, 500 thousand rubles each. for each deceased and up to 250 thousand rubles. per person depending on the injury. “Next week we’ll figure out how many citizens are in need,” assured Anatoly Litvinchuk. For those who decide to stay in a temporary accommodation center located in a dormitory at a local plant, 750–800 rubles will be allocated. per day for maintenance and food, the official added. According to him, the created commission will have to assess the degree of habitability of the rest of the building, and those who lost apartments will subsequently be allocated replacements: those who lived in rented premises will receive housing from the municipal fund, and those who owned apartments will receive housing from the flexible fund.

The Ministry of Social Protection of the Khabarovsk Territory sent specialists and warm clothes to the scene of the emergency: down jackets, warm boots, clothes, said First Deputy Minister Igor Chesnitsky. The department will help the victims restore their documents “in the shortest possible time,” Mr. Chesnitsky assured. According to the Far Eastern Regional Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, almost 500 people were involved in work at the site of the tragedy, including 340 rescuers and more than 50 pieces of equipment, work at the site of the tragedy continues.

Dmitry Shcherbakov, Khabarovsk; Alina Sabitova

An unknown force destroyed the entire entrance