Six people died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Tashkent: criminal case opened

What happened

On October 25, at around 9:53, the 112 emergency service received a report about nine people found unconscious in a house on Anaybulak street in the Alisherobod mahalla of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district of Tashkent. Citing preliminary information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this was reported by Gazeta. The case concerns a two-story residential building under construction on an 8-sotka plot, which was supplied with natural gas. According to preliminary data, six people died as a result of poisoning of unknown etiology, and two others were taken to the Republican Scientific Center for Emergency Medical Care, where they were in intensive care; the condition of the ninth person was assessed as satisfactory.

Who was affected

According to the preliminary list, the deceased were men born in 1982, 2008, 2008, 2004, 2000 and 2000; among those hospitalized were people born in 2000 and 2008. All eight people on the list lived in the Amudarya and Ellikkala districts of Karakalpakstan. Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service and other agencies went to the scene; a forensic medical examination was ordered and a pre-investigation check was launched. Gazeta noted that since October 25 it had been unable to obtain official comments from the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the causes of the incident.

The Prosecutor General's Office version and the criminal case

On October 28, the Prosecutor General's Office officially reported: in a private house where construction and repair work was underway, six people died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and two were hospitalized in serious condition. As reported by Daryo.uz, Kun.uz, UzNews.uz and Zamon.uz, it was established that the heating boiler located in the basement of the house did not meet safety requirements, and the connection to the gas network was made without properly executed technical specifications. The prosecutor's office of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district opened a criminal case under Articles 116 (improper performance of professional duties), 257 (violation of labor safety rules) and 205 (abuse of power or official authority) of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan; investigative actions are being conducted by the prosecutor's office of the city of Tashkent.

Context

Thus, over three days the picture became clearer: the initial report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs spoke of poisoning of 'unknown etiology' and a pre-investigation check, whereas the Prosecutor General's Office later named carbon monoxide as the cause and pointed to specific violations — an unsafe boiler in the basement and an unauthorized connection to the gas network. A resident of the Alisherobod mahalla told Gazetathat after the incident, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were conducting preventive house-to-house visits; according to residents, one of the employees said the measures were being carried out on the 'personal instruction of the Minister of Emergency Situations,' and that in just one mahalla of the capital, 12 people had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. The Prosecutor General's Office urged citizens to observe safety requirements when using gas equipment, to have it installed by qualified specialists, and to regularly check its technical condition. The final results of the examination and the investigation were not known at the time of the sources' publications.