Poor repairs to a generating unit contributed to the August tragedy at a Siberian hydropower plant, lawmakers said on Monday, citing a parliamentary commission's findings.
The August 17 disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant on Siberia's Yenisei River killed 75 people and destroyed a turbine hall. The accident also destroyed three hydropower units and damaged the other seven.
The State Duma's energy committee cited the report as saying that the low quality of work carried out in March by an organization affiliated with the hydropower plant's management to repair the hydropower unit No. 2 contributed to the destruction of the pins that held the lid on the turbine.
The parliamentary probe also found that the accident was prompted by flaws in the dam's design, which placed personnel facilities at levels subject to flooding.
The accident was exacerbated by the lack of protective measures for personnel and equipment in the plant's control system, the findings said.
The Russian industrial safety regulator, Rostekhnadzor, announced on October 3 the results of its probe into the disaster at the country's largest hydroelectric power station.
The report said a number of aspects, including design, operation and poor maintenance work, had caused the disaster. Anatoly Chubais, the former head of Russia's now defunct state electricity monopoly, was among those criticized for the accident.
According to Rostekhnadzor's findings, the heads of the plant and its owner, RusHydro, failed to do everything possible to prevent the disaster, while staff had not been properly trained on how to respond to accidents.
MOSCOW, December 21 (RIA Novosti)
