Inside the Algabas Tragedy: What Is Known So Far

An Orda.kz correspondent arrived in Algabas just hours after the tragedy. The village was already preparing for funerals. Twelve people had died in the fire.

Everyone we met said the same thing: “Yesterday they were alive — today we’re burying two families at once.”

Our report includes several accounts.

An Engulfed House

Eyewitnesses described what they saw and heard before dawn, when the fire engulfed the two-story house.

When that woman screamed, I heard her from inside my home. She was crying, ‘Apshe (term to refer to a woman one's senoir. - Ed), help, we can’t get out! We’re on fire!’ I ran outside — everything was burning. I woke the neighbors. Then rescuers and the ambulance arrived,
 recalls resident Khanimay Zhunisova.

They were poisoned by carbon monoxide; otherwise they might have survived. I saw them being carried out — the twins… It was horrific. Yesterday we saw them celebrating, and today they’re gone.

A married couple, their five children, and the husband’s 60-year-old mother lived in the house.

That evening, the owner’s brother arrived from Maktaaral with his wife and four children after a traditional celebration.

Only three family members — a 39-year-old man, his wife, and their seven-year-old daughter — made it out alive.

They remain in intensive care in serious condition.

They are three brothers. One lived here, the second across the road, the third in a nearby village. One family came over that evening; the others went home. I went inside after the fire — nothing was left. Everything burned,
 says villager Kaiyrbergen Bozhymbetov.

As villagers prepared the burial sites, dozens gathered outside the family home.

Children Who Will Never Return to School

Among the twelve victims were nine children, from a one-year-old baby to school-aged students.

School No. 14 director Sapargul Shaulieva learned in the morning that three of her pupils had died:

Alua was in first grade, Dana in third, Asiya in fourth. The twins, Alikhan and Amirkhan, were in kindergarten. They were bright, active children. Their parents were kind, hardworking people who came to every school event. My deepest condolences. This is a terrible day for our school.

Officials' Response

Regional officials addressed the press. Deputy Akim of the Turkistan Region, Zulfukhar Zholdasov, said the priority is supporting the families:

We’ve conducted prayers. I came early this morning. We’re helping with funeral arrangements and covering all material costs.

A gas explosion has been ruled out. The boiler room was outside. Experts are still investigating.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. For now, the focus is on helping the three survivors pull through.

Later, the Ministry of Emergency Situations named a faulty electrical extension cord as a possible cause.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev convened an emergency commission.

He instructed:

• The Ministry of Internal Affairs to take special oversight of the investigation
• The Ministry of Emergency Situations to conduct large-scale inspections of residential buildings, especially those of vulnerable families, as well as dormitories and hostels 
• Authorities to monitor stove-heating systems across the region

Olzhas Bektenov issued a separate instruction to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and local governments.

They are to inspect hostels, dormitories, and private homes of socially vulnerable families, install the necessary equipment, and eliminate the risks.

Overall, I'd like to note that the number of fires in residential buildings has been increasing since the start of the heating season. We discussed this issue at a government meeting in October. So far, we haven't seen any improvement in the situation. Therefore, it's necessary to strengthen preventative and awareness-raising efforts, the Prime Minister noted. 

Original Author: Nazerke Yerkinbekkyzy