MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Collapse of scaffolding at the facility of the Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft did not lead to fatalities but 22 individuals got various injuries. Violation of safety rules was mentioned as the incident cause and investigative authorities opened a criminal case in this regard.
Authorities of the Kirov Region declared readiness to provide all the required aid to injured individuals.
Failure to comply with safety requirements was the cause of scaffolding collapse at the line operations and dispatching station of the Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft in the Kirov Region, representative of the company Nailya Bayanova told TASS earlier today. This is a violation of safety rules and it will be investigated, she said.
The incident occurred at about 12.15 pm Moscow time in the territory of Lazarevo line operations and dispatching station. Workers performed interior treatment of walls at the fuel and lubricants tank with the volume of 50,000 tonnes. Scaffolding collapsed during work, the regional investigative department said.
"The case was opened under Part 1, Article 216 of the Russian Criminal Code - Violation of safety rules in construction if it led to grievous harm to human life by negligence," the authority said.
Contracted work was performed by Spetsstroi-Service company. "The contractor is not local. Workers were deputed, probably from Kazan," deputy head of the district Grigori Chernyshov told TASS.
"According to the latest data, 22 individuals applied for medical help. 14 of them received aid in the outpatient department, they have minor injuries. Seven individuals are hospitalized in the medium severity state. One patient in the medium severity state was delivered by ambulance helicopter to the regional center of traumatology," press service of the regional healthcare ministry told TASS.
Injured individuals will receive required aid, Governor of the Kirov Region Igor Vasilyev told TASS. All the responsible authorities are now dealing with the incident circumstances, he said.
Transneft sets up a board to investigate the scaffolding collapse incident at the corporate facility in the Kirov Region, official spokesperson of the Russian oil pipeline Igor Dyomin told reporters.
"No fatalities took place. Thirty two individuals worked at the facility in total. A commission was set up to investigate circumstances of the occurrence," he said.
The incident "has not affected operations of the enterprise and no threats are in place," deputy head of the district Grigori Chernyshov said.
Lazarevo line operations and dispatching station is servicing over 120 km of oil pipelines and is dealing with oil throughput over main oil pipelines and provides for maintenance of quantity and quality of oil supplied from West Siberian fields.