Darasun heat main repair: machinery fails, people work

Five crews of workers are repairing the heat main in Darasun village, Karymsky District of Zabaikalsky Krai, where an accident occurred on January 21. This was reported to a Chita.Ru correspondent on January 23 by district head Oleg Pavlov.

‘Everything is going according to plan, it«s fine. Five crews are working, working selflessly. It»s nearly forty degrees below zero Celsius (approximately -40°F), windy. Nevertheless, the work does not stop. Machinery fails, but people work. They are now finishing the repair of the main pipeline that was damaged. We hope to finish today,’ Pavlov said.

He noted that temperatures in homes are being monitored to prevent freezing.

‘Heat supply is available in all houses and social institutions. It«s just not enough to be directly warm. There is a pipe with a diameter several times smaller supplying the heat. And that»s why. Nevertheless, let«s say, the viability of all facilities is maintained. We hope to connect to the main scheme today,’ added the district head.

Residents of Darasun complained about cooling radiators on January 21, when a burst occurred on the main heat main. Seventeen apartment buildings and a secondary school were left without heat. Initially, the burst was sealed with clamps, and at night the houses were switched to a backup supply scheme. Since applying the clamp did not help, it was decided to lay a new section of pipeline above the old one. Five teams of welders from the company JSC Energia were dispatched to eliminate the accident.

A state of emergency was introduced in the village on January 22 due to the heat main accident, as a threat to residents« well-being emerged. In the village, volunteers were needed to help go around apartments to bleed air from radiators. Employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) brought thermal guns to the village to maintain temperatures in stairwells. They were also needed to heat half of the dormitory at Pochtovaya Street, 2. Additionally, a temporary accommodation point in the village of Karymskoye with a capacity of 120 people was put on standby.