Why authorities are silent about the causes of the house destruction in Gomel and what versions exist
Almost a month after the explosion in an apartment building at Kosarava Street, 3 in Gomel, authorities and investigative bodies continue to remain silent regarding the specific causes of the incident. To Gomel residents, the circumstances of the explosion seemed strange, and the responses from officials and special services were unconvincing. "Flagstock" reviewed all available photographic materials to find where the authorities concealed important information. "Nasha Niva" refutes some conspiratorial claims and clarifies the logic of the destruction.
Damaged house on Kosarava Street, 3. Photo: Ministry of Emergency Situations
On the afternoon of December 17, 2025, an explosion occurred in house No. 3 on Kosarava Street in Gomel with such force that remnants of window frames and flowerpots flew out of the windows facing the courtyard for several tens of meters, even leaving marks on the blank end wall of the neighboring house No. 5.
As a result of the explosion, an elderly resident of apartment No. 103 on the 6th floor died, and five floors of the third entrance had to be partially dismantled.
To begin, it's worth reiterating the most popular questions from Gomel residents on social media:
- Why is there no information about the initiation of a criminal case and the name of the article of the Criminal Code?
- Why is there no data on the circumstances of the disaster — who is preliminarily responsible for the partial destruction of the house and the death of a person?
The reason stated by the authorities, "explosion of a gas-air mixture," raises doubts. There were no large-scale inspections after the explosion. And two sources within the Gomel Ministry of Emergency Situations told "Flagstock" on condition of anonymity that the causes of the high-profile emergency on Kosarava were not covered or analyzed at meetings, as is usually the case in similar incidents.
Epicenter of the explosion — the kitchen of an apartment that was not shown
One can examine the available photos and videos of the explosion's epicenter. There is a single video showing the kitchen on the 7th floor. This is an MES video. It conspicuously shows undamaged kitchen furniture and a blown-out wide window pane; the room has no soot traces.
Kitchen of apartment No. 108. Frame from MES footage
An investigation conducted by "Flagstock" showed that the photo depicts the kitchen of a one-room apartment No. 108, which was not the epicenter of the explosion. This window is located on the side of the residential building's entrance.
Windows of apartment No. 108
No traces of an explosion could be observed in this apartment even during the dismantling of damaged slabs. Apartment No. 108 is not related to the explosion; its owners are among the victims.
The pattern of destruction indicates that the epicenter of the explosion was on the other side, facing the residential building's courtyard. It was from this side that the debris spread most intensely. And from this side, most windows were damaged and the loggia screen was blown out.
The greatest damage is concentrated around apartment No. 107.
Windows of apartment No. 107 in footage taken on the day of the explosion
Debris spread in the courtyard area from the side of apartment No. 107 (house No. 3 on Kosarava) and traces of fragments on the end wall of the neighboring house on Kosarava Street, 5
The kitchen of the two-room apartment No. 107, facing the courtyard, shows signs of thermal exposure: a black ceiling and interior are visible through the kitchen window in footage from TikTok blogger Vesna. Photos and videos of this room have never been published.
Layout of apartments on the seventh floor in the third entrance of the house on Kosarava Street, 3. Damaged structures are marked in red. Infographics: "Flagstock"
Why did the authorities conceal the appearance of the most affected room?
According to "Flagstock", special services cut out a fragment of the wall using a disk device. The section cut out in the upper part of the window opening is indeed visible in footage from December 29, 2025; in earlier images taken immediately after the explosion, there are no traces of the slab being sawn.
"Flagstock" asks: why was it necessary to remove a piece of concrete? For a special examination? Was something stuck in the wall?
Fragment of the outer wall of apartment No. 107's kitchen with traces of a cut made by a disk tool. In earlier images, sawing marks are absent. Frame from TikTok video: Vesna
However, despite the Gomel publication reviewing available photographic materials, it likely overlooked a video that was made much earlier than the specified date. It explains why it was necessary to cut out this fragment.
On December 19, Onlíner published a video from Gomel, which shows that the torn-out end slab of the house was temporarily secured with an emergency metal tie to prevent further collapse.
Emergency metal tie. It can be seen that the support is recessed into the body of the wall slab — apparently, this is exactly why a fragment of the structure was cut out. Screenshot of Onlíner's video.
Emergency metal tie holding the wall slab from collapsing. Screenshot of Onlíner's video.
Emergency metal tie holding the wall slab from collapsing. Screenshot of Onlíner's video.
The tie embraced the sturdy structures of the apartment, and at the points of breaks — on the edges of the balcony panels and in the kitchen window opening — special supports were made to secure the tie and prevent it from damaging the slab edges, which would weaken the tension and fixation of the structure.
One of these supports was located precisely where the cut-out wall fragment later became visible. Therefore, the conspiratorial version about this piece being of special interest for expertise seems less likely: the cut appeared at the moment of the support's installation or its dismantling — as a technical necessity, not as a search for something within the wall.
Where was the explosion?
The presence of soot traces on the wallpaper in other rooms confirms that the epicenter of the explosion was in apartment No. 107 on the 7th floor. Noticeable black soot is in the hallway and smokiness in the bedroom of this two-room apartment.
The kitchen of apartment No. 107 is the most sooty. There is no information about the condition of the toilet and bathroom, but it should be assumed that the source of the explosion could have been there as well.
Traces of burning on the wallpaper in the hallway and bedroom of apartment No. 107. Frames from TikTok video: Vesna
There are no traces of soot in the most affected living room of apartment No. 107. "Flagstock" writes that the blast wave spread in such a way that it tore five panels from their fastenings: the inter-apartment panel between apartments No. 107 and No. 108, the outer end panels of the loggia and living room of apartment No. 107, and the horizontal floor and ceiling slabs of the living room of apartment No. 107. The publication marked the deformed slabs and missing window units in red on the floor plan.
Opinion of Nasha Niva
In our opinion, it is incorrect to speak of five panels torn off by the blast wave. The only slab that was indeed partially torn out by the explosion (at least in its upper part) was the long end wall panel. This, in turn, led to a series of subsequent destructions: the floor slab that rested on it lost its support and collapsed downwards, bringing down the lower floor slab with its weight — it was fortunate that the house did not collapse this way all the way to the first floor.
What happened to the inter-apartment slab is not entirely clear — MES photos show that it collapsed into the neighboring apartment No. 108, but its upper fragment remained hanging by its fastening. This nature of its destruction may indirectly confirm that the panel was not simply knocked out by the blast wave, but was likely broken out as a result of the structures losing support.
This is not the only inter-apartment wall, so in explaining the cause of its destruction, one must either agree that the most powerful impact occurred in the living room (although the epicenter was in other rooms), or acknowledge that its destruction was precisely due to mechanical collapse.
Living room of apartment 107, filmed from the neighboring living room of apartment 108. There were no traces of burning here, but the damage is the most severe. Frame from MES footage
As for the presumed epicenter of the explosion in the kitchen, which at first glance seems too far to "break out" a panel in another room, it's worth considering: gas, when leaking, can spread throughout the entire apartment. The highest concentrations are often near the leak site, but the actual distribution depends on ventilation, temperature differences, and whether doors were open. We do not know how much the apartment was filled with gas at the moment of ignition and exactly where it occurred.
In the kitchen, a significant part of the pressure could have been "released" through the large window opening, which occupies most of the wall: in explosions within confined spaces, a breach outwards often reduces further pressure build-up in that room. In explosion-hazardous industrial areas, easily removable elements are often provided for this purpose, so that the blast wave exits outwards, reducing the destructive effect on personnel and equipment.
Simultaneously, part of the wave and gas flow can go into the corridor and further – as through a channel. If there was also an explosive mixture in the corridor and neighboring rooms, combustion could have continued there, increasing the overall pressure.
A more "sealed" living room, with less ability to quickly depressurize, could indeed experience a greater destructive effect in such a scenario. Especially since the largest facade panel was broken out — and this is natural. Due to its large size, it only has fastenings along the perimeter, with no additional fixation points across its surface. This made it vulnerable to internal pressure. The situation became catastrophic because the inter-floor slab rested precisely on this wall.
Also, due to the lack of visual confirmation, the fact that windows in the neighboring apartment No. 108 could have been blown out not only through the breach between apartments was ignored. The entrance doors of the apartments are positioned perpendicular to each other. Of the rooms we could see in the photos, most traces of burning were recorded in the hallway of apartment No. 108, immediately behind the entrance door. Are two entrance doors an obstacle for a blast wave that broke out a wall panel?
Could the explosion have occurred as a result of repair work?
When discussing the circumstances of the explosion, the version of an explosion due to stretch ceiling repair work was often discussed.
Examination of the footage of the house's dismantling does not confirm this version. There are no traces of repair work in apartment No. 107. Traces of stretch ceilings are absent in the hallway, bedroom (in the footage of the house's demolition above), and living room.
Only special services can answer what happened in the most affected room — the kitchen of apartment No. 107.
What do the residents of the affected house themselves think?
"Flagstock" spoke with a resident of the neighboring entrance on condition of anonymity. Igor (name changed) reported that the residents of the house do not believe the authorities' version. No gas smell was detected, and as far as residents know, no housing utility (ZHEU) work on gas equipment was carried out in the building. According to their information, there were malicious actions by people who lived with or visited a resident of the third entrance, Natalia.
So what was it? Information about the injured, taken away by ambulance, was reported by local residents in the first hours after the explosion, but it was not mentioned in the official information about the explosion.
One of "Flagstock"'s conjectures, which cannot currently be confirmed or refuted, is that the cause of the explosion in apartment No. 107 of house No. 3 on Kosarava Street could have been careless handling of an explosive device brought from the Russian-Ukrainian war.
It is precisely the version of an explosion caused by a device brought by a mercenary that can explain the authorities' silence. Any mention of a threat emanating from the Russian war in Ukraine puts local authorities and special services in a stupor. They remained silent even in cases where Russian "Shaheds" fell in the centers of Belarusian cities.
What about the authorities' version?
The version of a gas-air mixture explosion also cannot be ruled out. As an explosives expert, who also reviewed the photos presented here, explained to "Flagstock", such damage could have resulted from a gas-air mixture explosion:
"Any grenade certainly would not cause such destruction, as it does not have such power. Moreover, explosives shatter, but here it didn't shatter; it blew out the slab."
However, the most important question that arises if the authorities' version is true is: why are they silent about the culprits and the specific circumstances of the incident, forced to conceal the appearance of the explosion site and its circumstances?
Comments
Рэдакцыя, калі прыгледзецца, то заўважна, што гэта “сажа” ідзе роўна па контурах мэблі - навясных шафаў у кухні ды высокіх шафаў у залі. У той час як сама мэбля, выглядае, разляцелася ад выбуховай хвалі.
Што хутчэй сведчыць не пра “сажу”, якая з’явілася на сценах ў кароткі момант выбуху па гэтых контурах, - а пра брудныя нямытыя сцены яшчэ да здарэння.