Kyrgyzstan declares mourning for victims of fire in Moscow, road accident on Bishkek-Osh highway
BISHKEK. Aug 28 (Interfax) - By the Kyrgyz president's decree, August 29 is announced as the Day of Mourning in the republic over the death of 14 republican citizens in a large fire in Moscow and the death of nine republican citizens in a road accident on the Bishkek-Osh highway, the presidential press service told Interfax on Sunday.
On Sunday, President Almazbek Atambayev has signed the decree declaring the Day of Mourning, he said.
The text of the decree reads "on August 27, 2016, almost at the same time two tragic events have taken place: 14 Kyrgyz citizens died in a fire in Moscow and a road accident on the Bishkek-Osh highway claimed the lives of nine of our fellow citizens."
"Deeply grieving for the dead and extending sincere condolences to their relatives and loved ones, it is decreed to declare August 29, 2016 as the day of mourning in Kyrgyzstan," the decree said.
"This is a severe loss for all Kyrgyz people," it said.
"The republic's state bodies are taking the measures to provide aid to the families of the casualties and injured people, and are working on ensuring an objective investigation into the causes behind the deaths of people, including the specific talks with the Russian state bodies," the text of the document said.
In accordance with the presidential decree, the national flags will be flown half-mast throughout the republic, as well as on the buildings of diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, on August 29. The Kyrgyz cultural institutions and television and radio broadcasting companies are recommended to cancel all of the entertainment events and programs.
The president instructed the Kyrgyz government jointly with the local self-government bodies to provide the necessary assistance and support to the families of the casualties and injured people.
The fire, which claimed the lives of 17 people, has taken place at the printing plant's warehouse in northeastern Moscow in the area of Altufyevskoye Highway on August 27. Another three fatalities are Russian citizens. One of the women that died in the fire was pregnant. Three injured Kyrgyz citizens are being cured at the Moscow hospitals with burns varying in severity.
The Kyrgyz president ordered assigning a special plane to deliver the bodies of the dead Kyrgyz female citizens to the homeland. A governmental group led by Deputy Prime Minister for Social Issues Gulmira Kudaiberdiyeva headed to Moscow from Kyrgyzstan in order to resolve all the issues associated with the delivery of the bodies of the casualties to the homeland.
The road accident, which killed nine people, has taken place at the 178th kilometer of the Bishkek-Osh highway, in the Zhayyl district of Kyrgyzstan, on August 27.
According to the Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry, eight people died on the spot, another one died on the way to the hospital, and one more man was hospitalized with injuries as a result of the collision of a Volkswagen-Passat and a Mitsubishi Lancer. Local media said that the entire family, including two little children, traveling in the Volkswagen-Passat car, died in the road accident.
