Prosecutors on Monday confiscated documents from firms involved in the construction of a vast Moscow water park left in ruins after the roof collapsed, a disaster that threw a spotlight on the graft said to be rife in the city's construction business.
Twenty-five people were confirmed dead in the accident, which occurred Saturday night. Moscow city prosecutor Vladimir Yudin said four or five people remained unaccounted for. Initially, officials had given a higher figure, but later said that some of those reported missing had been located.
President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to the victims, saying "the culprits must be punished," while Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Yakovlev called for tougher punishment for those convicted of negligence in construction. Currently, the maximum sentence is five years in prison.
Prosecutors, who have opened a criminal investigation into negligence leading to the deaths, confiscated documents from the architecture and construction companies Monday and collected roof debris for analysis.
A government panel investigating the collapse said it would be ready to issue its preliminary findings by the end of the week.
"Their main task is to look at the foundation, the analysis of the ground conditions, and the design decisions taken ... the quality of metal and concrete used," said Nikolai Koshman, the chief of the government agency in charge of construction.
Experts said that corrosion and insufficient ventilation could have weakened the concrete-and-glass structure and made it more vulnerable. The chlorine vapors and temperature difference "influence the speed at which metal fatigue develops," Valery Goreglyad, a specialist on water parks, was quoted as telling the Izvestia newspaper. With an indoor temperature of 30?C and an outdoor temperature of -15?C, the difference was significant enough to reach a "critical" point for metal, he said.
But Russian media and some experts said that widespread neglect of safety norms and official corruption might have contributed to the disaster.
"On practically any construction site in the capital a system of mass corruption is flourishing -- from receiving licenses to the substitution of one brand of concrete for another cheaper brand or simply for sand," Alexei Klimenko, an adviser to the Moscow mayor, was quoted as telling the Kommersant newspaper.
"The system has collapsed," echoed the daily Vremya Novostei, which alleged that the accident had resulted from cronyism, graft and thefts in the city's construction business.
Yakovlev, the deputy prime minister responsible for construction, pointed to the possibility of negligence.
"A lot is being said now about how Moscow's high-rise buildings have been built in the wrong places or are of poor quality. All the facts need to be double-checked to prevent future negligence -- to put it mildly -- leading to the death of people," Yakovlev said during his meeting with key officials.
Meanwhile, rescuers continued the search for bodies in the rubble, while passers-by laid flowers and a small icon in the snow at the site.
The licenses of the Turkish company that built the park, Kocak Insaat, and the Russian architectural firm that designed it, Sergei Kiselyov and Partners, were suspended pending the probe, Koshman said.
Kiselyov and Partners said on Monday that another firm had designed the building's cupola, which collapsed. Turkish newspapers quoted Ismail Kocak, the Turkish company's owner, as denying responsibility and allegations that low-quality materials were used in construction.
The complex, which opened in 2002, was built in 18 months. It is one of several flashy facilities that have opened in recent years in Moscow, which has seen a major construction boom as the nation's oil-fueled economy has grown following the 1998 financial crisis.
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96. The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died on Saturday in London, where she lived. Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who cofounded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice. “The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding
Tens of thousands of Filipino Catholics yesterday twirled white cloths and chanted “Viva, viva,” as a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ was paraded through the streets of Manila in the nation’s biggest annual religious event. The day-long procession began before dawn, with barefoot volunteers pulling the heavy carriage through narrow streets where the devout waited in hopes of touching the icon, believed to hold miraculous powers. Thousands of police were deployed to manage crowds that officials believe could number in the millions by the time the statue reaches its home in central Manila’s Quiapo church around midnight. More than 800 people had sought
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
RSS