Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend K.Zarbaliyeva / One more person has been detained in connection with the collapse of a 16-storey building in Baku. Akif Maharramov, the head of the Housing Cooperative of the Executive Power of Baku, has been arrested for 3 month sentence in accordance with Article 308.1 (misappropriation of office duties) of the Criminal Code at the resolution of the Yasamal District Court. Vugar Aliyev, spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan, informed Trend.
A building which was under construction by the Mutaffakir company at the intersection of Nakhchivani and Mukhtarov streets collapsed on 28 August at 17:00 hours. Initial accounts revealed that gross violation of construction rules caused its collapse. According to official reports, the death toll has reached 16, while 5 people were injured. Ten more people are expected to remain under the ruins.
The suspects are being detained in accordance with Articles 222.2 (violation of safety regulations in construction work, mining or other work resulting in death) and 222.1 (violation of construction safety regulations) of the Criminal Code.
The Director General of the Mutafakkir construction company, Ali Muradov, engineer Askar Aliyev, and master builders Farhad Hasanov and Gadir Salimov, who were in charge of safety of the employees and of signing labour contracts, are being charged with violating construction technical norms and regulations, according to the joint report of Emergency Situations Ministry, Interior Ministry, and General Prosecutor's Office. Necessary technology was not used in the pouring of the cement.