“80% of burns without scalp, kidney failure, brain dead”

Novaya Gazeta Europe found out the circumstances of the explosion at the Syktyvkar training center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

On January 15, an explosion occurred at the Syktyvkar vocational training center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Initially, there were two versions of what happened: the explosion of a flash-noise grenade and problems during construction work. Later these two versions merged. According to the local channel “New Republic”, in the assembly hall where the exercises were held, there were paint and varnish materials prepared for repairs at the school. They were the ones that caught fire when (presumably) the head of the center threw a flash-noise grenade during a training exercise.

A source close to the local police told Novaya Gazeta Europe that on that day “the exercise consisted of dispersing riots using a flash-bang grenade.” They were attended by young junior police officers, most of them were about 20 years old.

Initially, the exercises were supposed to take place on the street, but the head of the professional training center, Anton Dashevsky, personally drove everyone into the assembly hall. “Yes, he apparently felt comfortable there: they worked in special uniforms like riot police, and it was cold in them [on the street],” says the source.

Since the renovation began, the source says, this was the first training exercise to take place in the premises. Before the renovation, exercises, of course, were also carried out in the assembly hall - and in general, the source explains, it is allowed to throw grenades in the prepared room, such consequences would not have occurred. But the renovation made its own adjustments.

The exercise on January 15 lasted only a minute and a half, the source reports, until the head of the professional training center, Anton Dashevsky, allegedly threw a grenade. Its rupture caused a fire. At the same time, BAZA reports that the grenade was activated by a school teacher, Vladimir Oparin.

The footage published in BAZA shows that a strong fire did not start immediately. At first it was just a small fire, which they tried to put out. However, no one took the students out of the room. Soon the fire flared up, and then an explosion occurred: the paint and varnish materials detonated.

The source says that he knows about one death - a 19-year-old girl who recently joined the police. He also says that several people are currently in a coma, so the death toll may rise (the editors have at their disposal the name of the deceased girl and the names of those seriously injured).

“One guy in a deep coma, 80% scalp burns, kidney failure, brain dead. The girl, 4th degree coma, burned her organs, was declared dead three times, but her heart was started, her brain was dead.

I don’t know much about another person, he just has 70% burns, and he’s also in a coma,” says the source. He also reports that several victims were sent to Moscow for treatment - these are police officers in moderate and serious condition. The families of the victims will receive payments from the state in the amount of 3–5 million rubles.

In total, according to the Komi Ministry of Health, 23 people were injured.

“Everyone [in the Ministry of Internal Affairs] is in panic, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic is in mourning, the night after the tragedy there was a special flight with a group of investigators from Moscow, they said that Bastrykin would arrive,” says the source. He also says that the victims “don’t lose their fortitude.”

“In my opinion, it was negligence and they thought that nothing would happen, the Russian “maybe it will pass, no piss, it will be normal.” The teacher also acted incorrectly: he started to extinguish the fire and did not bring out the young employees. Everyone was rightly accused. This is not the norm, this is blatant negligence,” says the source.

Now teacher Vladimir Oparin, who put out the fire, has been placed under house arrest, he faces up to 10 years in prison under the article of abuse of power resulting in grave consequences (clause “c” of Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code). At the trial, he described himself as a “veteran and participant in military operations,” and also reported on his awards and insignia.

The head of the center was removed from office and later detained . The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Komi Republic is conducting an inspection.