Court delivers verdict in the Gulistan canteen explosion case that claimed six lives

The court has completed its review of the case of a gas cylinder explosion at the Bek canteen in Gulistan on 2 December 2025, which killed six people. Six people have been held criminally liable. Expert examination established that the cylinder that exploded was manufactured in 2010 and had not undergone technical inspection since 2015. The cylinders were refilled the day before the explosion at a station that did not hold a licence to sell household gas.

tafs uz editorial deskFirst published on tafs uz 16 October 2026 at 20:382 min readAI translation

The key facts

Six people have been held criminally liable in the case of the explosion at the Bek canteen in Gulistan
The gas cylinder that exploded was manufactured in 2010 and had not undergone technical inspection since 2015
The cylinders were refilled on 1 December 2025 at a station without a licence to sell household gas

Verdict in the explosion case

The court has delivered a verdict in the case of the explosion at a canteen known among residents as the Bek teahouse in the city of Gulistan. Six people have been held criminally liable. This was reported by Kun.uz citing a court document.

Expired cylinders

According to the verdict, the gas cylinders used at the establishment had expired service lives. The teahouse owner used cylinders manufactured in 2000, 2010, 2013 and 2018, with the 2000 and 2010 cylinders not having undergone technical inspection since 2015, the 2013 cylinder since 2018, and the 2018 cylinder since 2023. Although the LLC had developed an occupational safety instruction, the responsible persons did not monitor its implementation.

Findings of the expert examination

According to the conclusion of a comprehensive forensic examination, the cylinder that exploded in the kitchen was manufactured in August 2010 and had not undergone technical inspection since 2015. The cylinder ruptured under the effect of high temperature, gas escaped outside, and the heat source that caused the explosion was the fire in the burner of the boiler used for cooking.

Refilling the day before

The cylinders were refilled the day before the incident, on 1 December 2025. On the instruction of the LLC head, household department assistants loaded four cylinders onto a Damas vehicle and took them to a gas filling station. The station did not hold a licence to sell liquefied gas for household cylinders, but its staff refilled the expired cylinders anyway.

The day of the explosion

On the morning of 2 December 2025, the household department assistants connected the cylinders in the kitchen to the gas stove and the boilers. The cooks began preparing food, and at 10:50 the cylinder connected to one of the boilers exploded.