The akim of the Karaganda region Yermaganbet Bulekpaev ordered an objective investigation into the accident at the Karaganda ferroalloy plant.
According to the press service of the enterprise «YDD Corporation», early on the morning of 20 July, a sudden burst of flame occurred in one of the production furnaces. Eight employees of the plant suffered injuries of varying degrees.
According to data from the regional health department, five of the injured are in extremely serious condition, two are in a serious condition, and one is in a moderate condition.
The injured were taken to the multidisciplinary hospital named after Professor Kh.Zh. Makazhanov. Six were hospitalised in the intensive care and resuscitation unit, and two in the burns unit.
According to Orda, among the injured there is a citizen of Ukraine. The man suffered severe burns and is in extremely serious condition.
The press service of «YDD Corporation» states that the company is in constant contact with the hospital's medical staff.
There is information that «YDD Corporation» has arranged for the arrival of qualified doctors from Russia and Turkey.
In addition, the company's management and representatives of the akimat held a meeting with the families of the injured.
Representatives of «YDD Corporation» pledged to take on the obligation to repay all current loans of the enterprise's injured workers.
The Ministry of Health ordered that specialists from the National Scientific Centre of Traumatology and Orthopaedics in Astana, led by director Olzhas Bekarisov, be sent to Makazhanov Hospital.
A criminal case has been opened regarding the incident at the ferroalloy plant under Part 2 of Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan «Violation of labour protection rules, resulting in serious harm to health through negligence».
A special commission, headed by the head of the labour inspection department Murat Kakekilov, will investigate the circumstances of the accident.
The preliminary cause of the tragedy is said to be a water leak, which caused «the furnace to be switched off at the arch of phase «A» near the protective screen of the electrode; while waiting for the furnace to be tapped, there was a burst of flame».
Let us recall that the founder of the Karaganda ferroalloy plant is the well-known businessman Yerlan Nigmatulin, who is the brother of the former Majilis speaker Nurlan Nigmatulin.