Former mayor of the city of Prokopyevsk Vyacheslav Starchenko, who was fired by the governor of the Kemerovo region Sergei Tsivilev because of a banquet on the occasion of his appointment, said that he was not present at the event. Despite the video posted with the tables laid, he also said that it was not a banquet, as there was “no music, no toast.” The head of the local branch of the For Truth movement Tuligen Adamov, who had previously published a video from the event, told Izvestia that Mr. Starchenko was at the event, but left the hall before the arrival of the social activists.
“There was no banquet. And I was not there, and there were no ceremonies for my inauguration. I was not there. You saw this video. I am not there, anyone can be enrolled, but I was not there. I want to objectively figure it out. No music, no toasts, ”said Mr. Starchenko to REN TV. He also said that he would appeal to law enforcement agencies “to sort it out,” and would try to meet with Mr. Tsivilev.
The event took place on November 25, the day of the accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine. According to Mr. Tsivilev, the administration officials noted the appointment of Vyacheslav Starchenko at a time when “the entire Kuzbass and the whole country were following the news from Listvyazhnaya with pain in their hearts”.
The explosion at the Listvyazhnaya mine, according to the preliminary version, was due to the release of methane. Among the dead are 46 miners and five rescuers. The search operation resumed on November 27. An inspector of Rostekhnadzor, the director of the mine and his deputy were arrested in connection with the tragedy.
Read more about the accident in the publication of Kommersant “Listvyazhnaya did not release the dead miners.”
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