Another person has been convicted for last year's fire in "Semey Ormany". This concerns the acting General Director of "Kazavialesookhrana" Talghat Aliyev.
According to the Telegram channel "Nege.Aqsha", Aliyev was tried for failing to organise training for employees of the Borodulikha and Bukebayev aviation units on descent techniques using a rope device.
Furthermore, in May 2023, he leased a Mi-2 helicopter instead of a Mi-8. The aircraft was not equipped for dropping firefighter-paratroopers and could not use water-dropping devices, which made the rapid extinguishing of the fire in hard-to-reach areas impossible.
This came to light when a fire broke out on 8 June 2023 in block 66 of the Batpayev forestry area of "Semey Ormany".
"According to the conclusion of the M. Gabdullin Academy of Civil Protection dated 28 December 2023, two firefighter-paratroopers with hand tools would have been sufficient to extinguish the blaze at the time of its detection. However, the helicopter's non-compliance with requirements and the lack of clearance for paratrooper deployment prevented the fire from being extinguished in time, leading to its spread and severe consequences", the statement reads.
In the end, the court ordered Aliyev to pay the Ministry of Ecology the amount of damage caused by the fire, totalling 161.5 billion tenge. He is also required to pay a state fee of 4.8 billion tenge.
It will be recalled that in June last year, a major fire occurred in the forests of the Abay region, which resulted in the deaths of 14 employees of the "Semey Ormany" forest nature reserve. The fire destroyed over 63,000 hectares of unique relict pine forest. The damage exceeded 160 billion tenge.
Later, two officials who held senior positions in the reserve and the Novoshulbinsk branch received sentences of 7 years' imprisonment each.
In July of this year, it was reported that the director of the "Semey Ormany" reserve branch was detained in the Abay region. He is suspected of timber theft. In addition to him, law enforcement officers detained more than 20 people.