Brother of sauna owner accused over teenagers' deaths

The Central District Court considered the investigation«s request to remand Pavel Dolgachov in custody; he and his brother managed the sauna where five teenagers died. The resident of Prokopyevsk (Kemerovo Oblast, Siberia) was in a different region at the time of the fire, the court»s press office told NGS42.RU on Wednesday, 4 February.

Law enforcement insisted on placing Dolgachov in custody for the duration of the investigation, but the defense asked for a more lenient measure.

The court ordered the 42-year-old Dolgachov to be held in custody for two months, until 31 March of this year.

As NGS42.RU reported earlier, the accused was in Sochi at the time of the fire and flew back on the first available flight after learning about the incident. Until 31 January, when the fire killed five minors, the man lived on the second floor of the building where the sauna was located.

Pavel«s brother, Alexey, the actual owner of the establishment, was taken into custody on Monday and partially admitted guilt. He also confirmed that fire safety rules were largely ignored.
The sauna administrator, Yelena Selishcheva, has been placed under house arrest.

The funerals took place last Tuesday; NGS42.RU showed footage from the farewell ceremony.

All events related to the tragedy are collected in a dedicated story thread.