On April 29, a worker died in the fire in the Usinsk district at the Alabushin oilfield. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the violations of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities (Part 2 of Article 217 of the Criminal Code). The press service of the Investigative Committee’s Directorate for the Komi Republic reported this.
A fire occurred at the Alabushin oilfield in the Usinsk district of Komi in the end of April. A 49-year-old driller was injured and taken to Usinsk on the medical flight where he died from massive burn injuries. Investigative and procedural actions are being conducted currently in order to establish the facts of the fire and find out who was responsible for it.
The Save Pechora Committee Environmental Organization believes that the accident at the oilfield could lead to pollution of air and nearby forests and the petroleum products spill could theoretically get into the Pechora due to spring flood.
This is not the first fire at the Alabushin oilfield. It took a whole month in 2017 to extinguish two oilfield wells: the authorities had to fire about 20 shots from an artillery mount in order to do that. Residents of the Usinsk district held protest acts against environmental pollution and demanded the closure of the oilfield.
