4 Officials Of Plant In Russia's Norilsk Detained Over Fatal Accident - Investigators

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2021) Four officials of Russia's Norilsk Enrichment plant and its contracting entity have been detained under the investigation of the collapse of the plant's building that killed three employees and left five others injured, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Sunday.

On Saturday, the crushing department of the Norilsk Enrichment Plant, collapsed, leaving eight employees trapped under debris. Nornickel's president Vladimir Potanin said that the head of the plant was dismissed, following the accident.

"Under the investigation of the criminal case, a 43-year-old head of the engineering supervision department, a 37-year-old chief engineer and a 46-year-old head of the crushing department of the Norilsk Enrichment Plant ... as well as a 43-year old employee of a maintenance and construction trust, Norilsknickelremont, who is responsible for the work permit, have been detained," the committee wrote on its website.

According to the committee, three employees died and five people have sustained injuries in the accident that was caused by the failure of the enrichment plant's leadership to strengthen the structure of the collapsed building on time.

"According to the preliminary investigation, in July 2018, defects were detected in the structure of the Norilsk Enrichment Plant's crushing department storage that could cause the collapse of the building. And the decision was made on the conduct of maintenance works that were not started on time, at the stated time, as the result of the negligence of the suspected employees of the Norilsk Enrichment Plant," the committee said.

Emergency services received the information about the collapse of the crushing department of the Norilsk Enrichment Plant early on Saturday, when eight persons were inside the building. The size of the building is believed to be 1,000 square meters (more than 10,700 square feet. The Russian Investigative Committee has initiated an investigation and filed a criminal case over a security violation that resulted in the deaths of people.