Search and rescue operations resumed on Sunday morning after Saturday’s deadly dam collapse in the Kuraginsky district of eastern Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk territory, a regional office of the Russian emergencies ministry said, TASS reports.
"The effort has resumed," a spokesperson for the rescue agency told TASS.
On Saturday, at about 2 a.m. local time, a dam collapsed on the Seiba river flooding the cabins of an artisanal mining camp in a remote area of the Krasnoyarsk Region, east Siberia. Two dormitories where miners lived were swept away by flood waters. According to latest reports, 15 people have been killed and six more are still missing.
The government of the Krasnoyarsk region said on its website that the rescue effort was suspended for the night and will resume in daylight.
In addition, TASS reported that the head of the company whose dam in East Siberia collapsed, has been detained on Sunday.
"The has been a detention," a law enforcement source told TASS.
Earlier, the Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal case into suspected safety violations. Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin sent a team of forensic experts who would render practical assistance in the investigation.
Searches were held at the Krasnoyarsk office of the dam’s owner, the Sisim gold mining company (part of the Sibzoloto holding). Financial and technical documents, as well as personal files on employees, have been seized.
The Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service (Rostechnadzor) said the company was developing the site legally, with the approval from relevant authorities. At the same time, regional authorities said they found violations in the construction of temporary dormitories for workers, which were flooded as a result of the accident. The dam itself was a temporary one and was not registered with relevant authorities.
