MOSCOW, July 22: Russia on Sunday announced the arrest of three local officials for negligence during flooding that killed 172 people and has caused a political headache for President Vladimir Putin.
The Investigative Committee revealed the surprise detentions during a lightning visit to the devastated Black Sea village of Krymsk by Putin’s powerful domestic security mastermind Alexander Bastrykin.
The Krymsk district chiefs now face up to seven years in prison — a sentence rarely seen in such cases and one stressing the urgency Putin attaches to the first big disaster to strike since his return in May.
“Essentially ignoring the weather service forecasts, the suspects did not inform the population about the looming danger and did not take steps to evacuate people,” committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said in televised remarks.
He added that the head of the nearby village of Nizhnebakansk might be held later on the same charge of failing to properly alertlocals about the possible dangers of a fast-approaching thunderstorm.
Most of the victims died in their sleep in pre-dawn July 7 flooding that also destro-yed the property of some 30,000 people in the worst such disaster in post-Soviet times. President Putin himself broadly hinted at possible sackings when he raced to the little southern village for the second time in just a few days on July 15.
State television then showed a remarkable sequence of some 20 minutes during which Putin patiently fielded complaints from irate locals who questioned official accounts of why the floods came.
Many spoke of hearing no flood warning alarms and only receiving text messages on mobile phones that were cut off as the storms progressed.
Local news reports have also said those applying for emergency assistance often had to sign documents stating they had received due notice about a potential flood.
“People here think that there was no early warning — despite the fact that the previous head of the administration said that there was one,” Putin told local officials after being briefed by the residents of Krymsk.
State and Kremlin-allied media meanwhile have revved up an apparent campaign to deflect any blame from Putin and implicate locals who do not report directly to Moscow.
The LifeNews.ru website — a popular outlet with top security sources and seemingly close government ties — said the detained Krymsk district chief was alerted of the flood danger a full three hours before the river banks broke.
Post-flood recovery work has remained a top item on state television news for much of the past two weeks as images of doctors giving vaccinations mingle those of worker brigades pounding away at roads and homes.—AFP