Explosion in Tashkent’s Sergeli district: What is known so far?

The explosion occurred at 02:43 a.m. in the warehouse belonging to Inter Logistics LLC. Fire rescue teams arrived at the scene of the incident at 02:48. The fire was contained at 05:02. Around 210 equipment, including helicopters, and more than 2,000 rescuers participated in rescue operations. The fire damaged 15 thousand square meters of area in the warehouse.

As a result of the incident, 163 people have been reported injured and one person (a 15-year-old boy) died.

The explosion damaged 592 apartments in 26 multi-storey buildings, as well as 8 service stations, 1 school, 2 kindergartens, and several vehicles nearby.

The governor of Tashkent, Shavkat Umrzakov, said that all the material damage will be compensated by the state. The city administration established a special hotline to help those affected by the explosion (1205).

The Ministry of Internal Affairs initiated a criminal case into the incident under Part 2, paragraphs “a” and “b” of Article 259 of the Criminal Code (Violation of fire safety rules, resulting in the death of a person and other serious consequences). The article provides for punishment by restriction of freedom from 2 to 5 years or imprisonment for up to 5 years with deprivation of certain rights.

With the relevant instruction of the president, a government commission has been formed to study the causes of the incident. The commission is headed by Achilbay Ramatov.