"Another criminal case - against Eduard Novgorodtsev, Head of the Control and Supervision Department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Directorate in the Khabarovsk Region - was initiated today. He is suspected of committing a crime under Part 3 Section 293 ("Negligence") of the Russian Criminal Code," she said.

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. The Russian Investigative Committee has brought criminal charges against an Emergencies Ministry officer after a deadly fire in a children’s camp in Russia’s Far Eastern Khabarovsk Region, the committee’s Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told reporters.

Children’s camp in Russia’s Far East to be closed after deadly fire

Police earlier detained the camp’s owner Vitaly Burlakov and director Maxim Kuznetsov.

A fire in a tent camp at the Kholdomi recreation center in the Khabarovsk Region was reported on Monday evening Moscow time. According to the latest information, 12 people were injured, including seven children, four of whom died. Five adults received minor injuries. The blaze spread to the area of 2,400 square meters: 20 out of 26 tents burned down and six were damaged.

The Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal case under Part 1 Section 109 ("Infliction of death by negligence") and item "B" Part 2 Section 238 ("Providing services that fail to comply with consumer life and health safety requirements") of the Russian Criminal Code. The fire could have been sparked by a failed radiator.

The regional authorities declared a three-day mourning as of July 24.