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Burnt Moscow Market Warehouse Owner Arrested

© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankMarket in southern Moscow
Market in southern Moscow - Sputnik International
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Moscow’s Cheryomushki court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Lykov, the owner of a market warehouse in the Russian capital’s south, which was the scene of a deadly blaze on Tuesday, a RAPSI/rapsinews.ru correspondent reported from the courtroom on Thursday.

Moscow’s Cheryomushki court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Lykov, the owner of a market warehouse in the Russian capital’s south, which was the scene of a deadly blaze on Tuesday, a RAPSI/rapsinews.ru correspondent reported from the courtroom on Thursday.

The fire killed 17 people, migrants from CIS states, probably from Uzbekistan. Many of Moscow’s migrant workers work in poor conditions, often illegally.

The court also sanctioned the arrest of Sedrak Stepanyan, the director of Albaset company that rented and used the warehouse, the correspondent reported.

Lykov earlier on Thursday expressed his condolences to the families of those killed but denied he was to blame.

“I regret what happened and express my sincere condolences to the families of those killed. However, I don’t consider myself guilty, the entire responsibility for the fire lies with the tenant,” he said prior to the court ruling on his custody.

Lykov said he had not known some people were residing on the premises he leased.

“During an earlier check, Emergencies Ministry officers inspected the premises but found no sleeping accommodation there,” he said.

Lykov said he had been fined for violations of fire safety regulations but added that the problems had been fixed before the fire.

The warehouse owner faces up to seven years in prison for fire safety violations, which caused the death of two or more people, in line with Criminal Code article 219.

"The site was absolutely not suitable for habitation," Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said after a visit to the market.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Prosecutor General's Office called for fire-safety checks to be carried out at all markets in Moscow.

The Emergencies Ministry said a check of the market some six weeks ago had revealed a range of safety violations.

Russia has an appalling fire safety record. Some 12,000 people died in fires across the country in 2011, according to Emergencies Ministry figures. The United States, with twice the population of Russia, saw around five times fewer fire-related fatalities.

Migrant workers living in dangerous makeshift accommodation often fall victim to fires. Seven died in May 2011 in a blaze that engulfed an abandoned building in downtown Moscow.

The market fire followed a blaze on Monday on a tower skyscraper that's still under construction. The fire on the Federation Tower complex, which is set to be Europe’s tallest upon completion, was visible across large areas of Moscow.

 

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