Difference between revisions of "2009 Taldykorgan fire"

Latest revision as of 15:43, 27 April 2025

The 2009 Taldykorgan fire occurred on 13 September 2009, when at least 38 people were killed in a fire at a drug abuse clinic in Taldykorgan, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan.<ref name="Kazakhstan News 13/Sept/09">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="AFP 13/Sept/2009">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="RIA Novosti 13/Sept/2009">Template:Cite news</ref> At least 10 others were re-hospitalised after the fire.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/> Two of the dead were staff, the other 36 were patients.<ref name="Fire at Kazakhstan health clinic kills 38"/> The building dates from 1951.<ref name="38 die in Kazakh drug clinic blaze"/> The cause of the blaze is currently unknown.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/><ref name="Dozens killed in blaze at drug rehab clinic"/>

Fire

Template:WikinewsThe fire started at 5:30 AM.<ref name="Dozens killed in blaze at drug rehab clinic"/><ref name="37 killed in fire at Kazakh drug rehab clinic"/> The fire quickly spread through the single story Soviet-era building. Locked doors and barred windows blocked many escape routes,<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/><ref name="Kazakhstan clinic fire kills 37"/> and screams were heard coming from the building for over 20 minutes.<ref name="37 killed in fire at Kazakh drug rehab clinic"/> 40 people were evacuated from the building by rescuers.<ref name="38 die in Kazakh drug clinic blaze">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dozens killed in blaze at drug rehab clinic"/> Ten people were taken to the hospital, where they were treated for severe burn injuries. Firefighters extinguished the fire after several hours.<ref name="Dozens killed in blaze at drug rehab clinic"/> The Bodies of 36 patients and 2 workers were recovered from the building, and taken to the city morgue where relatives were witnessed wailing.<ref name="37 killed in fire at Kazakh drug rehab clinic"/> One victim's sister criticised police for taking him away because "he was drinking too much. They said they were taking him away for six months to cure him of alcoholism but now he's dead".<ref name="37 killed in fire at Kazakh drug rehab clinic">Template:Cite web</ref> Another woman, this one named Fatima, stated: "I heard them screaming for 20 minutes. They were screaming, 'Save us, save us'".<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/> Relatives of the victims were warned by police not to talk to journalists, but a woman who lost her husband spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity. Journalists were not allowed to speak to victims in the hospital, but one patient whose bed was by the window told journalists that patients at the drug clinic had been locked in when the fire started before he was discovered by a police officer and pulled from the window.

Reaction

Karim Massimov, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister, asked for an investigation to take place.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/><ref name="Dozens killed in blaze at drug rehab clinic"/><ref name="Kazakhstan clinic fire kills 37">Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref> The Emergencies Ministry later released a statement saying: "The fire had spread rapidly because fire fighters had been alerted late".<ref name="Fire at Kazakhstan health clinic kills 38">Template:Cite web</ref> Serik Akhmetov, the Deputy Prime Minister, is to fly to Taldykorgan.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dozens killed in blaze at drug rehab clinic">Template:Cite web</ref>

A commission to investigate the fire was established. The building itself was visited by fire safety inspectors in May 2009.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/> A number of violations were discovered, and the building was found to have no alarm system.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/><ref name="37 killed in fire at Kazakh drug rehab clinic"/> Some violations had since been fixed, but an alarm system had still not been installed.<ref name="Dozens dead in Kazakhstan blaze"/><ref name="37 killed in fire at Kazakh drug rehab clinic"/>

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