Following the incident at Kumtor, it is necessary to conduct two investigations. The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Mining and Metallurgical Trade Union Eldar Tadzhibaev stated to journalists.
According to him, the first investigation should be technical in order to find out the causes of the failure and the incident. According to the law on industrial safety of hazardous production facilities, such an investigation is conducted by a special commission headed by an authorized body in the industry. In case of Kumtor, it is the State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use.
A state commission created by the Government can also conduct an investigation. It can include representatives of state bodies, local state administration and local authorities in the territory of which a hazardous production facility is located, as well as representatives of the branch trade union and the organization operating the hazardous production facility. The investigation is carried out within 15 days. Based on its results, a technical investigation act is drawn up.
«The second is the investigation of the industrial accident. It will start as soon as the missing employees are found and the incident is qualified. The composition of this commission includes representatives of the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate, technical inspection of the branch trade union and the organization where the accident occurred. As a result of the investigation, the true causes of the incident and persons who committed violations of industrial safety requirements and regulatory legal acts on labor and labor protection should be determined,» said Eldar Tadzhibaev.
«The paramount task now is to conduct a search and rescue operation. The union has already received appeals from Kumtor employees and relatives of the missing workers with a request to ensure objectivity and transparency of the investigations. A technical inspector of the Central Committee of the Mining and Metallurgical Trade Union of Kyrgyzstan will be a member of the both commissions,» he told.
