Maykainzoloto Collapse Case: Former Safety Officials Sentenced

Two former employees of the Industrial Safety Department have been found guilty of negligence in connection with a mining disaster that claimed four lives, Orda.kz reports.

A Pavlodar Region court issued its verdict on February 21 against former officials who failed to address violations at JSC Maykainzoloto's mining operations. Their oversight led to a ground collapse, resulting in a rescue team's bus plunging underground.

The defendant O. is found guilty of committing an offense under Part Two of Article 371 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and sentenced to three years of restricted freedom with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to supervision and control in the field of industrial safety. As an additional punishment, apply a lifelong ban on holding leadership positions in government and financial bodies, judge Tenlik Kadirbekova of the Bayanaul District Court announced.

The second defendant received a two-year restricted freedom sentence and a three-year ban on holding positions in control and supervision of hazardous industrial facilities.

After the sentence, both former civil servants will need to report to probation authorities and complete community service.

The court noted their violation of professional oath as an aggravating factor while considering their young children, health condition, and remorse as mitigating circumstances.

Prosecutor Bakhytzhan Babayev explained that although the defendants had resigned before the Maykainzoloto emergency, their negligence occurred during their active service.

During a 2016 inspection, they identified 70 violations, including unfilled voids in an underground mine that would later lead to the tragedy.

Being negligent in their duties, the defendants did not take measures to suspend work until the said violations were eliminated. From 2016 to 2021, O., being the head of the department for state supervision in the field of industrial safety in Ekibastuz, and S., being the chief specialist from 2016 to 2023, knowing for certain that the violations identified in 2016 had not been eliminated, being negligent in their duties, did not include the said violations in the reports. This led to the collapse of cavities on January 4, 2024, an accident and the death of four people, that is, it entailed serious consequences,  the prosecutor said.

The mining company had failed to fill underground cavities with concrete at the deposit above 160 meters as required. Instead, they relied on the unmonitored self-caving of rocks. 

Safety officials later signed off on inspections without verifying the problem's resolution.

The fatal accident occurred on January 4, 2024, when four RTSSh PVASS LLP rescuers died after their bus plunged underground when the ground's surface collapsed. 

The last body was recovered six months later.

A special investigation found the employer 100% at fault, naming Maykainzoloto JSC managers as responsible parties; that investigation continues under criminal code provisions for safety violations resulting in multiple deaths. 

Company representatives have repeatedly challenged the investigation's findings.

Original Author: Alina Adilova