Tbilisi residents accuse KazTransGas of negligence
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, July 17
The residents of the exploded building in the Gldani district accuse gas provider company KazTransGas Tbilisi of negligence.
The part of the building collapsed after the explosion on July 14 and claimed the lives of 5 people; several more residents were injured.
According to unofficial sources, the explosion occurred due to a gas leak.
The residents of the building cliam that during recent days, because of the smell of gas, they left several messages in the gas company, but the company had not responded.
They say that a girl, who was badly injured during the blast, called the company three times and asked them to take appropriate measures, but due to her critical health condition she is unable to speak.
KazTransGas Tbilisi rejected all accusation saying that the first call from the residents took place on the day of explosion, but they do not specify the exact time.
The head of Special Cases of KazTransGas Tbilisi, Nino Turmanidze, says that they launched an internal investigation on the day of explosion. She excludes the fault of the company in the case.
“Gas meters were installed in the entrance hall and examination was conducted in the building, so this is not the fault of the company,” she stressed.
According to the Head of Gas worker qualification courses Iuri Burchuladze, many citizens install gas equipments themselves, which is unacceptable. He thinks that the blast was an accident but says that sometimes gas workers, who conduct installation work, are not properly qualified.
“Sometimes the staff does not install equipment correctly or they were not explained equipment exploitation rules properly,” he said.
The investigation was launched under the article 240, which implies breaching of the security norms on the object.
