People guilty of barracks collapse near Omsk face up to ten years in prison - Markin
MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - A case has been opened on the basis of three articles of the Russian Criminal Code in connection with the collapse of part of the barracks in a paratroopers training center near Omsk, Investigative Committee official Vladimir Markin said.
"The military investigations department of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Omsk garrison has opened a criminal case based on Article 293 of the Russian Criminal Code, Article 216 of the Russian Criminal Code, and article 286 of the Russian Criminal Code [negligence, breaches of safety rules in construction work, and abuse of office]," Markin told Interfax on Monday.
Markin said investigators are now seizing documents, conducting searches and questioning servicemen and everyone related to the capital overhaul of the barracks and the decision to put it into operation.
"All people involved in this tragedy, regardless of their posts and merits, will be prosecuted, and the crimes enshrined by the articles based on which the criminal case has been opened carry a punishment of up to ten years in prison," Markin said.
According to the investigators, part of the roof and part or all of a four-storey barracks collapsed in the town of Svetly near Omsk around 11:00 p.m. on July 12.
"According to the available information, over forty people were hurt in the incident. Twenty-three conscripts were killed and the other people are hospitalized with injuries of various degrees," Markin said.
Markin said investigators are investigating all possible theories of the incident, "including the theory of breaches committed during the overhaul of the barracks building, which was built in 1975 and underwent a capital overhaul in 2013."