Owner of burned-down sauna where teens died pleads guilty, is jailed

Entrepreneur from Prokopyevsk Aleksey Dolgachev drew the evacuation plan for his sauna by hand. The building burned down last weekend, killing five teenagers who were inside. At a court hearing on Monday, February 2, where his pretrial restriction was determined, he partially admitted guilt for what happened.

The investigation and prosecution insisted on Dolgachev«s arrest, arguing he could flee justice despite having two children and a disability.

The court considered that the man had partially admitted guilt but still sent him to a pretrial detention center (SIZO) for two months, until March 31, while the tragedy is investigated, reports NGS42.RU.

The accused«s wife said she rented an apartment in Kemerovo, assuming he could be closer to the investigation if he were left free.

During the hearing, it was revealed the entrepreneur bought the building almost 15 years ago, when it already contained saunas. He performed all repairs and maintenance himself and also drew the evacuation plan by hand. Dolgachev noted that everything that happened was an accident, not a malicious act.

He was in Novosibirsk at the time of the emergency and learned about the mass death of minors and one person who survived the fire from the news.

Read more about the hearing in the online report. All coverage on the death of the teenagers in the sauna is collected by NGS42 in a special feature.