VLADIVOSTOK, August 31 (RIA Novosti) - Investigators started a preliminary probe on Monday into the recent bursting of a dam in Russia's Far East, in which at least one person was killed, a regional investigation spokesman said.
The tragedy occurred in the village of Karamken in the Magadan Region at 14:30 local time (02:30 GMT) on Saturday after heavy rain. Nearby homes were flooded when the dam across the River Tummanaya burst, and one local woman is still missing.
"A pre-investigation check has been launched and will last at least 10 days," the spokesman said, adding that officials from the industrial safety regulator Rostekhnadzor, along with hydroelectric experts, would be involved.
Residents of Karamken, home to just 57 people, have said the local authorities should be held responsible for negligence.
Magadan Region Governor Nikolai Dudov has visited the site of the accident. A diesel power generator was brought to the village on his instructions, enabling electricity and water supplies to be resumed.
Currently 81 people and 37 vehicles are working to repair the dam.
A local scientist has warned that if the dam is not repaired carefully, pollutants could spill into the Khasyn and Arman rivers, threatening fish stocks.
The dam was built on a reservoir for dumping tailings from gold mining, including heavy metals and cyanides. The Karamken gold mining plant has been idle for 15 years.
"Everything depends on how the dam is repaired. If it is just covered hastily, the environment will be harmed," Vyacheslav Kharitnov, chief aquatic biologist at the Institute for Biological Studies at the Far Eastern department of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.
