THE CULPRIT OF THE EXPLOSION IN SERGIEV POSAD MAY BE A BANKRUPT COMPANY

On the morning of August 9, an explosion occurred in the Moscow region. The site of the explosion was the center of Sergiev Posad, Zagorsky Optical and Mechanical Plant). The power of the explosion was equivalent to a hundred kilograms in TNT equivalent.

The investigative authorities consider the reason for the incident to be violated safety requirements related to the storage of pyrotechnics. The warehouse was managed by the company "Pyro-Ross". She was a tenant of the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant.

As a result of the blast wave, nearby houses, several schools, a college and a sports complex were damaged. The workshops of the plant, located near the metal hangar that became the epicenter of the explosion, were severely damaged. 80 people were injured. Of these, 15 are in hospitals, the Russian Ministry of Health said. One victim died in hospital.

The ill-fated hangar was leased from the company "Pyro-Ross". It is known that the organization has been working since 1994, presenting sets of charges for production, including orders from the defense department. Until 2020, almost no holiday in the capital or the Moscow region was complete without materials, tenders for the supply of which were won by Pyro-Ross.

Since 2018, the firm has regularly generated losses. In 2021, a bankruptcy process was initiated against the organization (case no. A41-47912/21). In March 2023, Pyro-Ross was declared insolvent. The amount of claims in various lawsuits exceeded 126 million rubles.

In March 2023, the company's activities were checked by Rostechnadzor employees. At the same time, they issued a warning that the organization does not comply with the rules of industrial safety. Last Wednesday, the investigation conducted an interrogation of the general director of the organization Sergey Chankaev, who founded the company.

According to Kommersant, difficulties in relations with supervisory authorities are not the only ones in the company's work recently. The firm was in litigation with the Ministry of Defense, which collected a penalty of 2.5 million steering wheels from the organization for the failure of the supply contract. The lawsuit against the pyrotechnic enterprise was filed by 53 Arsenal, which supplied the company with gunpowder in the amount of 3.9 tons.

In June 2022, more than 150 employees of the organization announced salary delays in the amount of 50 million rubles. Some complained that they had to personally borrow money from banks in order to purchase raw materials and supplies for a losing enterprise.