The last evening of January was supposed to be a holiday for a group of young people from Prokopyevsk. To celebrate, they gathered in a private sauna on Kubanskaya Street. And the right occasions: three birthdays at once. But the noisy party literally turned into a nightmare in just a few minutes: five young people died in a fire. Only one girl can survive in this hell…
From school to my last breath
The guys are very friendly. The four victims were in the same class. After ninth grade, their paths diverged a bit: three remained in school, and two friends, Lilya and Sveta, entered the Prokopyevsky College of Physical Education. There Sveta met Sasha, who became her best friend and the fifth victim of the fire.
Anna, Sveta's surviving sister, said: “I know Sasha, her best friend. Celebrated the New Year with us. I'm very sorry for him, he was a very nice guy. They met at university, classmates.”
That evening they celebrated three birthdays at once. Not long before the tragedy, the guys shared happy moments on social networks: here is a photo of smiling girls by the pool, here is a funny video in the car on the way to vacation. Friends who know the company say they are good people and don't drink.
“I'll say it right away: the guys don't even drink, don't talk about alcohol,” a friend said bluntly. “We are all in tears now.” I can't believe what happened…”
The moment that decides everything
According to preliminary assessments, the cause of the fire was due to an electrical short circuit. According to the surviving girl's sister, at one point the administrator ran into the room and shouted: “Run! The bathroom is on fire!”
Amid the growing panic and haze, 16-year-old Sveta reacted with lightning speed. Without hesitation, she grabbed a pair of wet shorts lying nearby, pressed them to her face so as not to inhale carbon monoxide, and rushed to the exit. It was this simple act that saved her life. She managed to run out just before the room was completely covered in deadly smoke. Unfortunately, her friends, in the chaos, made another, dangerous decision.
“The rest were confused, jumped into the abyss and suffocated,” Anna recounted her surviving sister, adding that they hoped to escape the fire in the water but died of smoke poisoning.
Another guy was lucky – he was at home thanks to his mother. In conversation with “KP” he said:
“My relative in this company – he also died… I had to go too, but my mother wouldn't let me go. But I talked to them exactly half an hour before the fire: they said everything was fine…”
The end of tragedy
Firefighters arrived at the scene at 8:22 p.m. and fought the fire for nearly an hour. Once inside, they discovered the bodies of five teenagers…
Sveta was examined by emergency physicians. She was not seriously injured physically but was severely shocked. The girl refused to be hospitalized.
“She's still in shock, all her close friends are dead,” her sister said.
It is possible to understand this girl: after all, in one evening she lost her best friends…
Opinions are divided…
This tragedy also caused great shock to netizens. However, opinions were divided: some expressed sympathy, others began to blame. Just look at what they wrote (the author's style and spelling are respected):
“Well done, Mom, who didn't let the green snot fall down her butt in search of adventures. I don't think I've ever regretted it once. And my condolences to the other parents…”
“There are condemnations from commentators berating parents for leaving teenagers alone in saunas. Yes, you are partly right, the parents have paid a heavy price for their carelessness and now they need support, if this is even possible to survive!” “This is not the first such case… Two years ago in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, teenagers were burned down in a garden house after gathering for a party about the DR. A very similar situation: young people left unchecked… “
“At least one mother acted as a guardian angel… Of course, nothing can be predicted. This sauna stands, works, people go in there, relax, with children. Can anyone imagine this horror? “It's terrible. Such a short life and such a terrible death. It's hard for parents to live with this for the rest of their lives. And for this survivor to lose all his friends in one evening… Give them strength to go through this…”
The investigation…
The Investigation Committee has prosecuted a criminal case under the clause “Providing unsafe services causing the death of 2 or more people”. The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, conducted the investigation under personal control. The prosecutor's office, in turn, began to check compliance with fire safety regulations in saunas.
Kuzbass Governor Ilya Seredyuk expressed condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and promised that the families will be provided with all necessary support. There is no doubt that this tragedy is another heavy blow for the region, which has still not recovered from the deaths of newborns in Novokuznetsk maternity hospital and a high-profile story involving a flu outbreak at a psychiatric boarding school…
