“There was such a terrifying sound, I almost jumped.” What is happening now in Gomel, where an apartment block entrance was destroyed
On Wednesday, a domestic gas explosion occurred in a residential high-rise building in Gomel. Part of the building on Kosarava Street sustained serious damage: ceilings, a balcony were destroyed, and windows were blown out. On Friday, Onliner journalists went to Gomel to see what the building looks like now and to talk with local residents about what happened.
The high-rise building, whose address now seems to be known not only in Gomel but throughout the entire country, has lost its peace for a long time. The third section, whose problems are visible to the naked eye, has been gathering "consultations" for days: local authorities, the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), the State Automobile Inspectorate (SAI), utility workers, residents of neighboring houses, and simply curious onlookers – everyone is examining the hole in the wall. And they are discussing how such a thing could have happened.
The damaged building section has been completely evacuated: perhaps some residents would have wanted to stay home, but in this case, there's no room for dispute: take the most necessary things and move out. Some of the owners, who unexpectedly found themselves homeless in the middle of winter, were sheltered by relatives. Those who had nowhere to go were allocated rooms in the "Sozh," "Dinamo," and "Gomel" hotels.
— I have acquaintances living at Kosarava, 3, they were lucky: their apartment is on the lower floors, — says an elderly woman observing the events in the courtyard. — When they left, they only took money, documents, and their cat — the most important things. People in the neighboring sections were not evacuated, although they also reportedly developed cracks in the walls. But everything there is controlled: some commissions come every day.
— I live in the second building section, we don't have cracks, — another Gomel resident joins the conversation. The woman adds that she was home during the incident. — There was such a terrifying sound, I almost jumped. The cabinet doors rattled. I didn't know what to think anymore. I was afraid that a war had started. I ran outside — I saw that the window frames had flown out. That means something happened in the apartment. I immediately thought of gas. Although who knows, there was no fire. But grey smoke was rising. I know that my neighbor, who lives right in the third building section, felt bad about his heart because of everything that happened — his daughter took him to the hospital.
It's scary, of course, uncomfortable. Such a New Year's "gift"... My daughter offers for me to move in with her, but I don't want to. I'll stay here as long as they allow me: after all, it's my own apartment.
— There was black smoke at first. I went out onto the balcony, just lit a cigarette — a "blast" happened, the house even shook, fragments flew. Residents immediately started calling the MES, — shares a man.
No one is saying anything about the owners of that particular apartment: either people truly didn't know each other, or they don't want to spoil relations with their already suffering neighbors.
On Thursday, it became known that the upper floors of the affected building section would be dismantled: no one wants to risk people's lives. Apparently, everything will have to be "cut off" down to the sixth level, onto which fragments of ceiling slabs fell. As of 13:00, the dismantling of the panels had not yet begun, but work in the courtyard has been intense since night: a large earthen embankment is being made right at the end of the ten-story building. Its purpose both frightens and greatly interests the locals. "Maybe to get equipment higher up? Or to stack panels," the apartment owners ponder. "How will such a building be repaired at all? What will happen to it next?" The locals have many questions.
And one of the main ones: what will be given in return? They will "cut off" about a dozen apartments now, but where will the owners go? People are convinced that the victims should receive housing in full ownership in return, not rented or social housing.
Overall, the residents are, of course, on edge. Everyone wants to get home and take out their belongings. Some came with suitcases (some even managed to get fruit boxes somewhere), others are willing to take at least small items. Naturally, people are not allowed inside, so they have to "instruct" MES employees over the phone, who have temporarily turned into the most important assistants. "There's a brown bag in the hallway, yes. Please take that one," a woman guides the rescuer.
In response, they ask residents to point only to the most valuable items.
— My parents are currently living in the "Sozh" hotel, and I came to help them with their belongings, — says a man. — What happens next — I have no idea. Their apartment is on the first floor, and it was seriously flooded. It's such a house that the heating pipes are sealed inside the walls. And after the blast, the system was damaged. Everything flowed into their apartment. And this earth (referring to the embankment): when they left, they left the windows open, so in the room, it's probably impossible to tell what's what. The apartment is insured, we will contact the insurers. We'll see what they say.
By the way, there are no vacant rooms available on the "Sozh" hotel website for the near future. As the administrator explained, 13 people from the affected building are staying here, and about ten more are awaiting check-in. So far, the accommodation has been agreed upon for two months. Rooms were given from those available: part of the hotel was already booked by tourists visiting the city.
Three meals a day are organized for people at the "Batski" restaurant. Although it is located in the hotel building, it belongs to private individuals. They also say that Gomel residents who lost their homes were given gift certificates to one of the supermarkets.
The only thing everyone unanimously agrees on — both victims and outside observers: the main thing is that no one died or was injured. And it could have affected even random passers-by: they say fragments from shattered windows were found near the neighboring house.
However, the kindergarten, which was also affected by the shockwave, looked completely normal on Friday: children were playing on the playground, and the caregivers also did not appear agitated.
— The shockwave was so strong that we felt it even in the store, — adds an employee of the nearby "Hippo" supermarket. — The children who were in the store were frightened. They say it even reached the nearest school. Overall, everyone in the city is discussing this incident.
After lunch, it was decided to allow residents to collect their belongings themselves: people were admitted to their apartments according to lists. Furniture and large household appliances, of course, cannot be saved, but at least something.
— Oh, what can I tell you, we've already cried and hysterically laughed. Of course, this is a disaster. Essentially, in a matter of minutes, a bunch of people became homeless. What's next? How the housing issue will be resolved — we know nothing. And that's the most important thing. Maybe they will give monetary compensation. In general, no one knows anything yet, — people talk in the crowd.
According to local residents, on the day of the emergency, there were many people near the building. Various services gathered here (from the tired faces of the rescuers, it was clear that they had been working here for more than a day), victims gathered, and random passers-by filmed what was happening on their phones.
Attempts were made to warm up the people who were left without apartments: some were in a tent set up by the Belarusian Red Cross for two days, others were invited for free tea at a medical center in a neighboring building. Overall, everyone tried to somehow alleviate the difficult situation of Belarusians who found themselves on the streets in a matter of minutes.
Let us remind you, the emergency occurred on December 17. There was no fire after the explosion, but the building's structures were damaged by the shockwave and destruction.
78 people, including 11 children, lived in the damaged building section. Residents were temporarily accommodated in hotels, and some people were taken in by relatives. Four elderly residents requiring bed rest were admitted by medical personnel.
MES units worked on site: a total of 12 pieces of equipment and about 40 rescuers were involved, — as well as psychologists and Red Cross representatives. Modules for warming people were deployed.
At night, specialists inspected the affected apartments. Searches were conducted with the involvement of K9 units and technical control devices. As later reported by the MES, "no living people were found under the rubble." Heating and sewerage have already been restored in the neighboring building sections.
According to the plan, specialists must dismantle the upper floors of the building affected by the blast, and also reinforce the structures of the damaged part of the house.
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Адказ просты - гэтая істота нават ня літвінскіх каранёу́ , ён з арды , калежка джугашвілі , кат Вялікае Літвы .
Уся наша краiна гэтым людзям спачувае. Страшна усё гэта.
А вось цяпер уявiця: такiх кватэр на 100 штук i кожную ноч ва Украiне... i нябожчыкi бомбамi i дронамi разарваныя... чатыры гады ужо... кожную ноч. I усе гэтыя зверствы робяць нашыя "браття", маць iх так!