Following a fire at a farm in the Yelabuga District of Tatarstan which killed six people authorities opened a criminal case, according to the Regional Investigative Committee (SK).
Investigators are pursuing charges under four articles of the Criminal Code: causing death by negligence, negligence, organising illegal migration, and providing unsafe services.
The fire broke out on the night of December 24 in a workers’ barrack. Thirty-nine people were inside when the blaze started. Six workers died, five of whom were from Uzbekistan. Authorities believe a faulty electrical appliance may have caused the fire.
Staff from the Uzbek Consulate General in Kazan arrived at the scene the same day. They helped identify the deceased Uzbeks.
Tatarstan’s head, Rustam Minnikhanov, has instructed an inspection of workers’ living conditions at agricultural enterprises across the republic.
