The Ministry of Emergencies of Russia could hide the deaths of people during the flood - mass media

The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Oleksandr Kurenkov, during a visit to Orsk, Orenburg region, stated that there were no deaths in the city as a result of the dam breach, but independent media have data that several people did die.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia could hide the death of at least five people as a result of the flood in the Orenburg region, since the ministry claimed that there were no victims, but the independent Russian TG channel Important Stories has other data from relatives and acquaintances of the deceased, as well as from volunteers.

During a visit to Orsk, the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Oleksandr Kurenkov, stated that there were no deaths in the city as a result of the dam breach.

"There were no casualties from the flooding, although the water was moving very fast," he said on April 15.

Important stories report that four people died in Orsk, another near Orenburg, and at least two more people may be missing.

Other independent media reports, citing local residents, that in Orsk, rescuers found the bodies of a man who died of electrocution, as well as volunteers who died after boats were punctured during the rescue operation.

The flood in Orsk began on April 5 after the dam that closed the city from the Ural River broke.

The Moscow Times writes that in 2014, the hydraulic structure was built for almost 1 billion rubles by a company close to the local government.

"As the head of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, Irek Faizullin, said after what happened, the dam in Orsk was an earthen embankment that cannot cost 1 billion rubles. As a result of the dam breach, water flooded Orsk and reached Orenburg, more than 15 houses were flooded in the region, and thousands of people were evacuated," The Moscow Times reports.

It is also reported that the authorities of Orsk allocated less funds for the maintenance of the dam than for the city's flower gardens: 4,8 million rubles against 1,6 million this year. And for the improvement of the square near the city administration, an amount that is 167 times higher than the annual maintenance cost of the hydrotechnical structure was spent - 268 million rubles.

In addition, there were showers and hail in the Russian city of Nalchik, after which part of the city's streets went under water.

After the Orenburg region, water began to flood the city of Tomsk.

On April 16, there were reports of the evacuation of residents of the city of Ishim, which was also flooded.