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Pervorechensky district court of Vladivostok on Tuesday found five people guilty in connection with the massive fire on January 16, 2006, which killed nine people and injured more than 13, prosecutors said.

The five found guilty by the court include the head of the city's Pervorechensky Inspectorate Sergei Luzgan, who was to supervise fire safety of residential and office buildings in his district, a senior fire inspector for Pervorechensky residential district, Alexei Lobanov, and head of Primorye's Sberbank branch Lyudmila Feofanova. The remaining two are a senior engineer for the branch's maintenance department Viktor Hanikov and Viktor Marchenko, one of the office building owners.

The five were charged with breech of fire safety regulations after the deadly fire, which occurred in a nine-storey building in downtown Vladivostok. Nine women of the state run Sberbank with its offices on the eighth floor were killed by the blaze after they got trapped in the fire, as the stairwells leading to Sberbank were locked. Desperate women, trying to save themselves from the smoke and flames, jumped out of windows to their deaths.

Thirteen other people were injured and more than 30 had to undergo treatment for phychological disorders. The damages to the building and Sberbank’s offices were estimated at 26 million rubles.

Feofanova, Khanikov and Marchenko were found guilty of violating fire safety regulations which had led to grave consequences. Lobanov and Luzgan, fire inspectors, were found guilty of negligence of duties and issuing of false documents about fire safety checks.

Feofanova and Khanikov were sentenced to 2 years to be spent in a prison colony each. The court also banned them from taking positions requiring responsibilities to ensure fire safety for 2 years. Marchenko and Lobanov were sentenced to one year and 10 months each to be spent in a prison colony. They are also banned from taking positions in state organizations and local administrative bodies for one year and 10 months.

Luzgan was sentenced to 2 years in a prison colony and was also banned from taking positions in state organizations and local administrative bodies for two years.

The court also ruled the five convicted should pay the damages, a press statement from Primorye’s prosecutor


The first reports about the fire can be found at
http://vn.vladnews.ru/Arch/2006/ISS501/News/upd17_1.HTM
http://vn.vladnews.ru/Arch/2006/ISS502/News/upd24_1.HTM