In Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent District, a criminal case against the head of the private Chudo kindergarten in the village of Paraul, where 10 children suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in February, has been sent to court, the republic’s prosecutor’s office said.

The woman is accused of providing services that failed to meet safety requirements for consumers’ lives and health. The case will be heard by the Karabudakhkent District Court.

According to investigators, the kindergarten’s head personally installed an open-type gas stove burner on the premises, although such equipment is permitted only in non-residential open spaces.

Investigators found that the building had no ventilation ducts, the gas equipment was not properly monitored and the required inspections had not been carried out. As a result, combustion products accumulated inside the building.

The incident occurred on February 2. Ten children attending the kindergarten were hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning. By February 4, all of them had been discharged from hospital.

Following the incident, Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer protection watchdog, closed and sealed the childcare centre and also asked a court to suspend its operations.

An inspection also found that the single-storey building rented by the businesswoman to house the kindergarten had been constructed without the required permits. The prosecutor’s office asked a court to order the demolition of the building.

Dagestan saw another incident at a preschool earlier this year. On January 14, a fire completely destroyed the Uylybka kindergarten and auxiliary buildings in the village of Karata in Akhvakhsky District. A short circuit was cited as one possible cause. The building’s automatic fire alarm system was not functioning at the time of the fire.