In Novosibirsk, a court detained the director of a gas filling station, where a violent explosion took place, as a result of which more than 30 people received burns and injuries. The investigation motivated the need to keep Roman Garmider in the pre-trial detention center by the fact that he could hide because of the severity of the punishment that threatens him, as well as put pressure on witnesses from among his subordinates. The lawyer believes that the investigation “found the last one”, since the cause of the explosion has not even been established yet, and the gas carrier that started the fire belongs to the fuel supplier. In a petition to release the accused on bail of 1 million rubles. or his placement under house arrest was denied.
Today, at the request of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the court sent Roman Garmider, director of the exploded Eurogas gas station, to a pre-trial detention center for two months. He was detained on June 14 near the gas station, where he arrived after learning about the accident. He was charged with Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements) and Art. 217 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of industrial safety requirements at hazardous production facilities). After the arrest, the investigators applied to the Central District Court with a petition to detain Roman Garmider.
Among the arguments in favor of his arrest was the fact that he could oppose the investigation, for example, by putting pressure on witnesses from among his subordinates, or even try to hide because of the severity of the charges brought against him: he faces up to seven years in prison.
The defense argued that these arguments of the investigation were not supported by anything.
Lawyer Pavel Luzan asked for his client any measure of restraint not related to detention, including house arrest or bail, offering to contribute 1 million rubles.
“My principal was not hiding anywhere. On the contrary, he was one of the first to arrive at the scene and provide assistance. He himself is interested in finding out what happened, ”said attorney Luzan. After weighing the arguments of the parties, the court sent the director of the gas station to the pre-trial detention center.
On the evening of June 14, a violent explosion and fire took place at the Eurogas gas station, located next to a densely populated residential area.
The explosion was so strong that parts of the gas equipment were found within a radius of several hundred meters.
35 people were injured of varying severity, including two firefighters, no deaths were reported. Law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation. It found that the explosion occurred while the fuel was being pumped from the tank of the gas carrier to the tank.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations believes that during the discharge of fuel into the storage, the gas carrier was not grounded.
The investigation detained the director of the gas station Roman Garmider and the gas station engineer (a preventive measure will be chosen for him on Thursday), believing that they did not ensure the safety of loading and unloading operations for unloading liquefied gas at the gas station.
Mr. Luzan believes that the law enforcement version is based on assumptions alone. According to him, the investigators did not even appoint a technical examination, which could remove questions about the reasons for the incident. “On the very first day, they detained the director, at whose enterprise the accident occurred, and imputed to him according to the principle“ your enterprise is you and the last one ”. In fact, the investigation states that there was a fire, after which there was an explosion, but does not take into account the fact that the gas carrier, which ignited it all, does not in any way belong to my client, but belongs to the supplier, ”the lawyer told Kommersant.
The defense lawyer believes that there are many flaws in the position of the investigation. “For a fire to occur, there must be a leak. And in which node it happened, again, it is not established. If this is the improper state of the gas carrier to blame, then my client has nothing to do with this. But nobody wants to understand this. I would like to appoint an extreme officer and report to Moscow that people are in prison, ”the lawyer said.
In the meantime, Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, where the civil liability of the AGZ owner was insured, will also take part in the investigation of the causes and circumstances of the incident. According to the company, the organization began to accept statements from victims of the incident at the gas station. The insured amount under the contract is 10 million rubles.
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