Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus Dmitry Krutoy named the possible causes of the fire in a large Vitebsk shopping center.
According to him, numerous violations on the part of the owner of the Belarus shopping center could have led to the fire.
The civil servant made this statement following a discussion at the headquarters of the regional executive committee, Belta reports .
New details
Krutoy noted that a criminal case has been opened on the fact of the incident – for now under the article providing for liability for violation of fire safety regulations.
However, the speaker pointed out, “the work of forensic experts has only just begun.”
As the examinations are completed, it is possible that this criminal case will be reclassified into more serious articles, he added.
And he explained: details of the incident are emerging, for example, in the shopping center’s power supply system.
There is also information about numerous illegal redevelopments of stores where tenants worked.
There is also information about violations in the financial and economic activities of the entity, as well as in some other areas.
Questions have arisen before
All departments have now distributed the work among their units; experts from both the republican level and the Vitebsk region level have been assigned, Krutoy said.
Since there are “enough people,” he assumed that the investigation would be carried out promptly.
Considering that the owner has a number of other properties in Vitebsk, they will also be subject to thorough inspection and audit, said the head of the Presidential Administration.
He also informed that questions had arisen regarding Belarus earlier.
In particular, for many years, according to his information, especially after 2020, when a similar incident occurred in this shopping center (refrigeration equipment burned), the necessary measures were not taken to eliminate violations in the operation of the fire extinguishing system and all relevant sensors.
Krutoy stated that within the framework of the criminal case on the current fire, “the most objective investigation will be conducted.”
The competent authorities will assess the actions or inactions of officials, he summed up.
