Two Detained for Explosion in a Residential Building in Tbilisi
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, January 21
Two individuals have been detained for negligence regarding the deadly blast in the Didi Digomi district of Tbilisi on 16 January, which claimed four lives and injured eight others.
Both of the detainees are the employees of the gas provider company KazTransGas, who were called by the residents of the building several hours before the fatality because of the “strong smell of gas.”
The Georgian Interior Ministry says that the detainees V.M., 61, and T.T., 27, did not check the building properly, which caused the tragedy.
“The detainees told the locals that it was the smell of paints and not of gas. Four hours after they left the explosion happened” the ministry said.
One of the residents told the media that the “elevator did not work that day and the KazTransGas employees were lazy to check each floor.”
The detainees do not admit to the crime and say that they checked all the areas which were indicated by the locals, as well as nearby gas networks and an elevator.
“However, the device which measures the gas concentration in the air confirmed no leak,” a lawyer said.
The detainees dismiss the reports that they were lazy to check each floor and say that they walked up to the ninth floor to do their utmost.
The KazTransGas repeats the same and states that they do not know the reasons why the explosion took place and claim that they are cooperating with the investigation.
The explosion took place on the sixth floor of the nine-storey building on the Avtandili street in Didi Digomi.
Three adults and one minor were killed due to the blast. Eight individuals were hospitalized, six of them were minors.
Five minors have already been discharged.
KazTransGas says that over the course of the past three years 86 people have been killed due to the faulty installation of gas heaters.
The energy ombudsman has offered tougher regulation for energy-related issues.
