Volgograd Oil Refinery Witnesses Accident

The Prosecutor's Office in Volgograd (a regional centre in the south of Russia) has initiated criminal proceedings regarding an accident at the Lukoil-Volgograd oil refinery, which resulted in air pollution and poisoned 31 children.

According to Deputy Prosecutor of the Volgograd region, Mikhail Murzayev, the criminal proceedings were instituted in compliance with the article "Breach of Environmental Protection Rules at Work". The guilty are facing 5 years of imprisonment without the right to occupy executive positions.

It has been established that the accident happened at the second carbon-processing plant. A factory blemish in the equipment caused air venting of 5-7 cubic metres of liquefied propane-propylene and butane-butylene gas mixture containing 1% of hydrogen sulphide.

A total of 31 students, ageing from 10 till 14, from Volgograd's Krasnoarmeisky district college got poisoned. According to the doctors, the children's health condition is quite stable and their lives are no longer in danger.