Two blamed for water park disaster

Moscow prosecutors have blamed the architect and an official over a roof collapse that killed 28 people at a water park nearly two years ago.

The collapse, which injured more than 100 others, was caused by a series of design flaws including “crude miscalculations” that made the concrete-and-glass dome over the Transvaal water park unsafe, chief prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev said.

He repeated authorities’ statements that no evidence of explosives or any other attack was found in the ruins of the indoor park in south-western Moscow whose roof collapsed on swimmers on February 14 last year.

The findings will be sent to court for trial.

Zuyev said the design cut corners by calling for concrete in the roof instead of a more expensive design using lighter materials.

The findings blame Nodar Kancheli, the building’s architect, as well as Anatoly Voronin, the head of a state agency that signed off on the plans, Mosgosexpertiza.

The prosecution’s report accuses them of criminal negligence causing death.

Prosecutors said in April that they had filed criminal negligence charges against Kancheli. It was unclear whether the report completed today was in support of those charges or meant the start of a new case. Russian media predicted it would take a long time for the case to come to trial.

Defence lawyer Yuri Kostanov said the report was not sufficiently specific.

Kancheli has rejected claims of design flaws.