Three individuals were poisoned and died in the Karaman Palace hotel in Tashkent, and the hotel manager along with others were criminally prosecuted.
According to the court ruling, four individuals were charged in the criminal case – the hotel manager Azamat Khojakulov, Zayniddin Jamoldinov who sold the heating boiler to him, Abdurasul Yusupov, and the master who installed it, Nodir Qurbonev.
Zayniddin Jamoldinov and Abdurasul Yusupov had been engaged in the sale of heating boilers. Together with the hotel manager Azamat Khojakulov and the plumber Nodir Qurbonev, they installed the heating boiler at the Karaman Palace Hotel. However, the boiler they installed was old, past its service life, and modifications had been made to its construction, such as removing the siphon from the condensate drainage system.
Thus, the condensate drainage pipe of the water heating boiler was connected directly, i.e., without a siphon, to the sewage system, and the gas device flues were improperly installed, contrary to technical and regulatory requirements. The flues were used without undergoing inspection before the heating boiler was put into operation.
On October 20, 2024, gas from the heating boiler began to leak. As a result, Russian citizens – 47-year-old Inessa Papernaya and 45-year-old Maxim Radchenko, as well as 48-year-old Uzbek citizen Khushnud Udekov – were poisoned by gas and died. The relevant conclusions of the forensic medical examination noted that their deaths occurred due to acute poisoning by carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide gases, leading to respiratory failure.
Additionally, the conclusions of the forensic technical expertise from the Republic’s Forensic Examination Center named after Kh. Sulaymonova stated that the heating boilers were outdated and past their service life, modifications had been made to their construction, the siphon in the condensate drainage system had been removed, and the condensate drainage pipe had been connected directly to the sewage system. The conclusion further stated that using heating boilers with a faulty condensate drainage system, connecting the pipe to the sewage system without a siphon, led to the leakage of carbon monoxide gas, which created a poisoning risk. The gas equipment and devices were installed contrary to technical and regulatory requirements, and the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning requirements were not followed, resulting in the release of carbon monoxide gas.
The court ruling found the defendants guilty of committing a crime under part 4, article 186 of the Criminal Code (producing, storing, transporting, or delivering goods or services for the purpose of violating safety requirements). Azamat Khojakulov was sentenced to 8 years in prison, while the others were sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 3 years under article 57 of the Criminal Code.
About the Incident:
Inessa Papernaya was a journalist for Russia's Lenta.ru news outlet. She had been staying at the Karaman Palace Hotel in the Mirabad district along with 45-year-old Maxim Radchenko. On October 20, they did not appear for breakfast. When hotel staff called the woman's room, there was no response. Afterward, the staff entered the room and found Inessa and Maxim dead in the bathroom. In another room of the hotel, the Uzbek citizen Khushnud Udekov was also found dead. It was later reported that signs of carbon monoxide poisoning were found in the blood of the Russian journalist.
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