The cause of the explosion at a scrap metal collection point in the Ili district of the Almaty region, which killed three people, could have been an anti-tank mine. This was reported by the owner of the enterprise, Amirbek Sherbayev.
According to the Telegram channel «HALYQSTAN», the man claims that hazardous waste may have entered the facility along with raw materials brought by representatives of a Chinese company. Sherbayev had leased the premises to this enterprise, which used it as a smelting workshop.
"Apparently, they bought the scrap at a cheap price back then. They didn't know themselves. Among the metal, there turned out to be waste, it seems to me, from the Ministry of Defence — unexploded mines," the owner of the enterprise explained.
Access to the area is now restricted; police officers and Ministry of Defence personnel continue to work there. According to law enforcement agencies, they are conducting an investigation and establishing the exact circumstances of the incident. It is reported that all the victims were citizens of Uzbekistan.
There are no official confirmations regarding the origin of the explosive objects or their connection to the military department at this time.
For context, earlier in the Ili district of the Almaty region, an explosion of an unknown object occurred at a scrap metal collection point, resulting in the deaths of three people.
The media reported that local residents refute the official version. According to them, the explosion took place at an aluminium processing plant, the closure of which they have been demanding for a long time.