Tragedy in the "Transvaal Park": a mistake or a deliberate calculation?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Transvaal Park is a sports and entertainment complex located in the south-west of Moscow, in the Yasnevo microdistrict.

Unfortunately, the word "entertainment" has long ceased to fit with this famous building, because in 2004, on February 14, a terrible tragedy occurred that claimed many innocent lives. However, more about everything later.

History

The very first Moscow water park "Transvaal-Park" opened in 2002, which made many residents of the capital very happy. The total area of the building was 20200 m² (to be clear, the complex could accommodate more than 2000 visitors per day).

The first floor of the water park was occupied by a large restaurant, a bowling alley with 12 lanes, a billiard room, a cafe, engineering equipment and administration premises.

On the second floor there was a fast food cafe with 100 seats, a left-luggage office, a main lobby with a dressing room.

The third floor is occupied by a beauty salon and a gym.

The water park itself was a mock-up of the southern sea, surrounded by rocks and marine vegetation.

Projectors and investors

"Transvaal Park", built in the shape of a whale's tail, was designed and built according toproject of the workshop "Sergey Kiselev and partners". The chief engineer was Nodar Kancheli, who was subsequently accused of what happened. The main investor, in fact, as well as the customer, was CJSC European Technologies and Service. The contractor was a Turkish company called "Kocak Inshaat Limited", which managed to invest in a short construction period - 1.5 years.

Tragedy in the Transvaal Park

February 14, 2004 at 7 pm Moscow time, when nothing foretold trouble, the roof suddenly collapsed in Transvaal Park. This tragedy shocked the whole of Russia. Why did the once-famous entertainment complex fall apart like a match house?

At the time of the tragedy, there were about 1,300 people in the building. 400 of them had fun in the pool area and adjacent area of the water park.

The collapse area was simply stunning - almost 5000 m². The dome, towering over the building, fell on the entire water part, only the adult pool was not touched. Unfortunately, a playground with water attractions was also found under the collapsed hulk.

Also, an amphitheater, a fitness center, office space, a cafe and a lobby with cash registers found themselves under the rubble.

After the collapse, almost naked people found themselves in a 20-degree frost under glass and debris.

Death toll

How many lives did the Transvaal Park claim? Those who died under the rubble are mostly residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. Among themthere are also representatives from Magadan, Dushanbe and even Lithuania.

According to official figures, the Transvaal Park, the photo of which is presented below, claimed the lives of 28 people, 8 of whom were children. More than 120 innocent people were seriously injured and injured.

Rescue operation

Literally a few minutes later, virtually all the emergency services of Moscow arrived at the scene. About 100 rescuers and more than a dozen units of special equipment were involved in the rescue operation.

Rescuers worked without rest all night. They used only hand tools to remove the rubble: crowbars, sledgehammers, jackhammers, etc.

During the rescue operation, another part of the dome collapsed. But in this case, to the greatest joy, no one was hurt.

The work was completed only on the morning of February 16.

Who is guilty of the tragedy

Why did the Transvaal Park collapse? The collapse, which horrified all of Russia, could not be ignored. Therefore, the Moscow prosecutor's office took this case seriously. The investigation lasted a long time - as much as 1 year and 8 months.

During this time, the investigators examined more than a dozen different objects and interviewed about 300 people. Over this long period of time, more than 240 examinations were carried out, in particular, construction and technical, and several dozen versions were considered, which took into account both the meteorological causes of the tragedy and the planting of explosives.terrorists.

Most of all, investigators were inclined to believe that low-quality building materials were used during construction, as well as all kinds of design errors.

This version turned out to be established during the investigation: "Transvaal Park" collapsed due to gross design errors that were made during the development and calculations of the project. The erected building did not meet the regulatory requirements for reliability and safety for people."

The charges were filed against the chief engineer of the project, Nodar Kancheli, and the head of the non-departmental expertise, Anatoly Voronin.

Punishment for the guilty

On September 5, 2006, at the request of lawyers, Nodar Kancheli was granted an amnesty in honor of the 100th anniversary of the State Duma. Anatoly Voronin was also not punished, as the Moscow prosecutor's office dropped the criminal case against him.

What is now on the site of "Transvaal Park"

Now, on the site of the collapsed water park, there is a multifunctional center called Moreon.

The entertainment complex was opened in 2013. Its area is 55000 m². Of these, 2500 m² is a water park. The complex is designed for 4000 people.

Remember, we grieve…

A memorial stone was erected at the site of the tragedy in 2005 with the names of all the victims. In 2006, it was consecrated by Alexy II (former Moscow Patriarch of All Russia) and Archbishop Arseniy of Istra. Later on Golubinskaya street wasthe Church of All Saints was erected, reminiscent of this terrible tragedy. Anyone can come and pray for the repose of innocent dead people who happened to be at the scene of the tragedy.