DUSHANBE February 8, Asia-Plus — The Dushanbe prosecutor’s office attributes a domestic gas blast that occurred in one housing estates of Dushanbe on December 7, 2007 to negligence of controllers from Dushanbegaz (Dushanbe natural-gas distributor).
A source at the Dushanbe prosecutor’s office said that the Dushanbegaz controllers Mirzo Qalandarov and Boymurod Odinakhonov resumed gas supply to residential building # 15 at the Nemat Qaraboyev Street at around 10:00 a.m. without preliminary notification of residents. This negligence resulted in the gas explosion, the source said.
We will recall that the explosion that occurred in one of apartments on the second floor of the residential at around 12:20 ruined part of the four-storey building. The blast was so powerful that it blew out the windows of nearby buildings. Seven persons, including three children, were injured.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Qalandarov and Odinakhonov and an investigation is under way.
It is to be noted that accidents involving gas happen quite often in Tajikistan, where ageing infrastructure needs renovation.
Thus, six people, including a baby, were killed in two separate gas blasts in Tajikistan on November 8, 2007 alone.
The first blast occurred in Dushanbe, killing two persons. The other blast took place at a saw-mill in Sughd’s Spitamen district. The Spitamen explosion killed four persons, including a baby.
