A four-year-old boy from the Atyrau region died after falling into an open reservoir at the Russian border checkpoint Karazek, bordering Kazakhstan. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to the child's mother, Sevindj Mamedova, the tragedy occurred on May 22. That day, the family was crossing the border to take the boy, named Aslan, to his grandparents in Astrakhan.
The family arrived at the checkpoint at approximately 9:30 PM Astrakhan time. There, they were met by Mamedova's father and brother. According to the woman, they stopped for a few minutes to hand over belongings.
"At some point, I realized Aslan was not next to me. At first, I thought he was hiding somewhere. Then I saw two cars drive by, and I got scared. For a while, I thought the child had been kidnapped," the mother said.
During the search, the woman asked a man in military uniform for help. Together, they began inspecting the area and approached several manholes. According to Mamedova, they were only covered with car tires.
"When I shone my phone light into one of them, I saw my son's clothes. And then him at the bottom," the woman said.
After that, the family retrieved the child from the reservoir themselves. Before the medics arrived, relatives tried to resuscitate him, then drove towards the ambulance coming from the Kazakh side.
According to the mother, the boy was still alive but in critical condition. He could not be saved.
Almost a month after the tragedy, Mamedova turned to the investigative authorities because, she said, she realized no one was going to take responsibility for her son's death.
The woman claims that during the interrogation, she was told that there used to be a gas station at that location, and the water-filled reservoir was used for firefighting purposes. After the facility closed, the tank remained in place.
A month later, the family returned to the site of the child's death. According to Mamedova, by that time, a fence, a warning sign, and caution tape had been installed around the reservoir, and the object itself was covered with boards.
Now, the resident of Atyrau is seeking a full and objective investigation into the circumstances of her son's death. She asks to determine who owned the dangerous object, who was responsible for its maintenance, and why safety measures were only taken after the tragedy.
"Help us achieve a fair investigation. In memory of my little Aslan," the mother of the deceased boy appealed.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that two children and an adult burned in a car at a gas station in Aktobe. After the tragedy, the owner of the auto gas filling station was detained.