Kazakhstan's investigation into the Caspian Sea tragedy that killed 14 servicemen has widened sharply.
Kazakhstan's investigation into the Caspian Sea tragedy that killed 14 servicemen has widened sharply.
More than 300 people have now been questioned, the Prosecutor General's Office said, and eight officials are in custody with court approval. They include the navy chief, his first deputy and his deputy for combat training, the commanders of two military units, a marine battalion and a company, and the captain of the boat.
The tragedy happened on September 24, during the Khazar Korgany-2026 naval exercises off Kazakhstan's Mangystau coast. Strong winds swept 17 servicemen into the sea as they disembarked from a patrol boat. Three were rescued. Fourteen died.
The fallout has already reached the top of the defence establishment: the defence minister was dismissed on September 27, and the navy chief, Kanat Niyazbekov, was removed on October 3 and arrested three days later. Investigators say the case turns on negligence and violations of navigation rules.
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