MOSCOW, July 25 There are several plausible theories that would explain the pipe burst with boiling water in Vremena Goda and would not lay the blame for the death of people on the chief engineer of the company serving the shopping center, his defense in the Presnensky Court of Moscow said.
According to the lawyer, the investigation has no evidence of the guilt of the engineer Yevgeny Botkin, whose arrest they are requesting.
«What happened — a plug flew out of the pipe. This could have happened due to a number of reasons: unauthorized mechanical impact, terrorist attack, and so further, improper operation — they could hit the pipe or put something heavy on it. In our opinion, the most likely cause of the accident is the actions of MOEK — the organization that supplies hot water, «said the lawyer.
She claims that the investigation did not check any of these reasons at all, but simply «found the culprit in order to calm public opinion.»
The lawyer stressed that the heating system of the shopping center was regularly checked and the last of them came to the conclusion that it was suitable for operation until 2027.
On Saturday, a pipe with hot water burst in the Vremena Goda shopping center on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. As Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported, four people died; According to the prosecutor's office, all the dead are women. According to the capital's head office of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, another 10 people were injured.
Botkin was charged under Part 3 of Article 217 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Violation of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence).