Investigative Committee: An explosion of an air container took place in the metal smelter of Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant

At 4:59 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2024, an alarm was received that an explosion had occurred in the foundry in the area of HrazJEK OJSC, causing casualties.

As a result of the necessary measures taken, preliminary data was obtained that on Sept. 10, 2024 at around 4:45 p.m., an explosion of an air container took place in the metal smelter in the area adjacent to Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant. As a result, six people with bodily injuries—who are employees of the company operating the facility—were taken to a medical center. One of the mentioned persons, a 46-year-old resident of Hrazdan, died in the medical center, not coming to consciousness.

In connection with the incident, a criminal proceeding was brought in the Kotayk Province Investigation Department of the RA Investigative Committee under Article 355, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code, and the preliminary investigation was assigned to the investigation team.

During the preliminary investigation, the scene was examined.

The aforementioned six persons were recognized as victims. Two of the victims were questioned, but it was not possible to carry out the necessary investigative action with the other three persons due to their health condition.

Forensic, forensic medical examinations of the body, forensic explosive technology and forensic complex examinations were appointed.

The investigation is underway. Necessary urgent investigative and operational actions are being carried out in order to find out all the circumstances of the incident, including the causes of the explosion, the state of compliance with the set safety requirements in the given object.

Notice: A person accused of a crime is considered innocent until his guilt is proven in accordance with the procedure established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code, by a legally binding court verdict.