Shopping Center Collapse in Novosibirsk: One Dead, Rescue Efforts Detailed
Dozens of rescue workers searched for people trapped under the rubble on the building«s collapsed roof.
On January 21 the second floor of a shopping center collapsed on Naumova Street in the Pervomaysky District of Novosibirsk. Several people were trapped under the rubble, one ultimately died. A hundred rescuers and dozens of units of equipment worked at the scene — employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) managed to pull people out from under the rubble. What eyewitnesses say, who owns the building, and what questions there are about how the structure appeared in this location — in the material by NGS.RU.
Herman heard the building start to collapse, with the entire incident unfolding over just seconds.
Collapse
The building«s owner initially denied ownership when first contacted by journalists about the collapse.
The building of the shopping center at 26 Naumova Street in the Pervomaysky District collapsed around 4:00 p.m. on January 21. The first footage from the scene was published on social media. In recordings from eyewitnesses, the second floor of the structure was seen completely collapsing.
While the developer and city authorities were in dispute, the structure collapsed on its own.
An NGS reader sent a video to the editorial office showing how the collapse occurred: the roof caves in at the center — presumably, it couldn«t withstand the weight of accumulated snow.
A section of the shopping center gave way instantaneously, as captured in video from a reader.
Rescuers arrived at the scene. According to the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for Novosibirsk Region, by evening, no fewer than a hundred personnel and 33 units of equipment were working on Naumova Street. Later, a crane was brought in to lift the roof.
Rescue personnel from the Ministry of Emergency Situations extracted a victim from the debris, a moment caught on video.
MChS employees concentrated their main efforts on the collapsed roof: people remained under the rubble there. At 5:35 p.m., the agency reported rescuing the first victim. A woman was extracted and handed over to doctors. At 6:08 p.m., MChS announced a second rescued woman — she was also hospitalized. A man remained under the rubble at that time. He was successfully extracted around 7:40 p.m.
The Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case on the grounds of providing services that do not meet safety requirements for life and health of consumers (Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The prosecutor«s office also organized an inspection, and the mayor of Novosibirsk ordered an examination of building roofs.
In total, at least five people were injured, three of whom were pulled from the rubble by rescuers. One person died.
«We Were Crossing Over the Rubble»
As eyewitnesses say, the collapse happened instantly. A local resident, Herman, told an NGS correspondent that he was buying groceries at the time. He was in «Yarche» and calmly exited, going to move his car that was in the parking lot.
«I parked a bit farther away. It was probably the only one not damaged. The parking lot was completely full. About ten cars were affected. Everything was in debris,» Herman said.
According to Herman, he entered the store half a minute before the incident. Everything happened very quickly, the eyewitness recalls. There was no panic around.
«A rumble was heard from above. At first it was just unclear, and then something started falling from the roof. I thought it was snow sliding off the roof, and then I saw pieces of the facade — all this was falling on the car. Shop windows broke, it was visible that clothes were falling from above. We stepped aside a bit from the glass. It all lasted about ten seconds, and then it went quiet. We started slowly exiting, already crossing over the rubble,» Herman said.
Polina, an employee of a flower shop nearby, said she was assembling a composition, turned around, and saw the destroyed building.
«An acquaintance from »Yarche« said she was serving at the checkout, heard glass breaking, and everyone was evacuated. From the second floor, she saw a girl being extracted. She is alive,» the girl said.
Some eyewitnesses miraculously didn«t have time to enter the building before the collapse. A Siberian woman, Olga, wanted to go into »Yarche« to buy groceries. She was about to cross the road when the building collapsed.
«Many people remained there. They carried out a seller who was sitting at the corner. He was taken to a resuscitation car,» Olga shared.
Who Owns the Building?
As NGS found out, a car wash previously stood at the site of the shopping center on Naumova. Later, another floor was added to it. In city hall documents found by NGS, it is indicated that the building was constructed in a residential zone, with permitted uses including shops. In 2014, the plot was empty; in 2015, construction began, but not of a shopping center, but of a car wash.
In the documents, the plot owner is listed as a certain Sergey T. As follows from the decision, he built the car wash, after which he tried to obtain the corresponding permitted use of the land plot.
In 2016, the city hall refused Sergey T., citing violations of SanPiN requirements. Moreover, the placement of the capital construction object does not comply with the general plan. The owner also attempted to reduce setbacks from Naumova and Odoevsky Streets.
In 2017, a second floor was added to the car wash, designating the building as a shopping center.
Today, according to Rusprofile, in Novosibirsk there is one businessman with fully matching full name — Sergey Turkov. Since 2009, he has owned three companies with a total turnover of 57 million rubles (approximately $570,000 at current rates) and revenue of 1.4 million rubles (about $14,000) in 2024. One of the organizations (LLC «Vysoky») is engaged in mining ores and precious metals, and the other two (both called LLC «MS-Grupp») — in installation and finishing works.
In a conversation with an NGS correspondent, Sergey Turkov first stated that he is not the owner of the building. However, in the contacts of other people, according to GetContact data, he is listed as the owner of the construction on Naumova Street.
A bit later, the journalist called Sergey again, to which he responded: «I»m here trying to provide at least some help, and you [are interfering].«
What«s Wrong with the Building?
LLC «MS-Grupp,» among other things, is involved in maintaining security systems, as well as construction and engineering services — the organization has executed dozens of state contracts worth 75 million rubles (around $750,000 at current rates). Among them are orders for repairs (including major repairs) in numerous state buildings across different regions of the country from 2013 to 2022.
The Novosibirsk city hall confirmed that Sergey Turkov is the owner of the building. According to the administration, it is an unauthorized construction. In 2017, the architectural and construction inspection department appealed to law enforcement agencies with a request to initiate a case, but was refused. In the same year, the developer attempted to legalize the construction.
«The application was formal, as it was submitted without the necessary documents. He was denied issuance of a permit for putting the object into operation. Including with information about the establishment of the fact of unauthorized construction,» said the city hall press center statement.
In 2018, the Pervomaysky District Court sided with Sergey Turkov and recognized his ownership right to the construction.
«Responsibility for the safety and maintenance of the building lies with the owner,» the city hall pointed out.
More video from the scene of the shopping center collapse — in our photo report.
