Dam break in Khromtau: Akimat employee convicted of negligence

In the Aktobe region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, an end has been put to the case of the destruction of the Magadzhanskaya dam located in the Khromtau district. The court sentenced the official responsible for the tragedy, whose negligence led to large-scale consequences for the region.

As established by the investigation conducted by the Financial Monitoring Agency, the disaster was a direct consequence of the inaction of an employee of the local akimat. The official, whose official duties included supervision of the hydraulic structure, ignored his functions. He did not organize regular inspections of the technical condition of the dam and did not take any measures to prevent an accident, which, in fact, was only a matter of time.

The breakthrough of the dam provoked a powerful flood that flooded settlements in the Alginsky district. Water also gushed into the suburban areas located in the floodplains of the Ilek and Kargaly rivers, leaving hundreds of families homeless and without property.

In an emergency, 215 people were evacuated from the disaster area. Among the rescued were 96 children who had to be urgently removed from flooded houses.

The financial losses from the destruction and consequences of the flood turned out to be enormous. According to experts, the total amount of damage caused to the state and citizens amounted to more than 211 million tenge.

The court, having considered all the materials of the case, found the official guilty of negligence, which entailed grave consequences. He was sentenced to restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year and 6 months.

Original (in Russian): Прорыв плотины в Хромтау: сотрудник акимата осужден за халатность