Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense has issued an official statement regarding two sailors previously believed to be among those killed in the Caspian Sea. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
The ministry said information about conscript sailors Akhmetov and Magauiya had been circulating on social media.
"In connection with information circulating on social media about conscript sailors Akhmetov and Magauiya, we report the following. During exercises conducted by the Naval Forces, part of the personnel were on shore and performed the relevant training tasks," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, conscript sailors Akhmetov and Magauiya "were part of a group of servicemen performing training tasks on shore."
The sailors are currently "performing military service at the location of the military unit and in accordance with the daily routine," the ministry said.
The Ministry of Defense called on Kazakhstanis "not to disseminate unverified and untrue information, and to rely on official data."
Caspian tragedy
On September 24, in the Mangystau region, during Naval Forces exercises, while performing a combat training task on the Caspian Sea coast, servicemen were swept away by a wave due to a sharp deterioration in meteorological conditions and increased wind.
Initially, information circulated that 19 servicemen had been swept into the sea. Later, the ministry reported on 17 sailors.