A resident of the fifth floor in a building on Bauskas Street attempted to illegally connect gas. The emergency service tried for two days to stop these actions, however, it is likely that the persistence of the resident led to a gas leak, followed by an explosion. As a result, a GASO employee died. The roof of the building and several apartments collapsed, reports the Degpunktā program (TV3).
The explosion that occurred on Friday, January 2, in a multi-storey building on Bauskas Street shocked Riga — the sound was heard throughout the area.
"I was going to heat up and saw a light wave, so to speak. I couldn’t understand what was happening, my neighbor started shouting. We walked around. We saw — there were broken windows there and there too," said a resident of the building across the street.
"Fifteen minutes later, one fire truck arrived, and then, you could say, all of Riga came," added another eyewitness.
After the explosion, residents noticed an emergency service vehicle still under the debris of the roof, with its flashing lights on. It became known that shortly before the explosion, GASO employees arrived at the site to inspect the building due to suspicions of a gas leak. The suspicions were confirmed.
Alongside the call to the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and the State Police, the emergency service immediately began to shut off the gas supply in the stairwell and the building.
During this work, the explosion occurred in the mentioned apartment on the fifth floor, resulting in an injury to an emergency service employee. Rescuers carried him out of the building with injuries and handed him over to medics, but he soon died.
"I express my condolences to the relatives. This is a great loss for us, and we are, of course, very upset," said the head of the Riga branch of GASO, Ainars Seletskis, to the Degpunktā program.
The inadequate actions of the resident were not news. GASO representatives had already visited the site on Thursday, January 1, to disconnect natural gas from this apartment. During the inspection, an illegal gas connection was discovered, which the service employees eliminated by sealing the pipe.
On January 2, it is possible that the actions of the resident led to the explosion that destroyed the roof of the building, the fifth floor, and several apartments. Residents of the building are now in confusion. Uncertainty reigns in the thoughts of a fourth-floor resident named Daniel, who returned home shortly after the explosion.
Daniel's apartment, located on the fourth floor, was also damaged by the explosion. He does not yet know when he will be able to retrieve his belongings left inside.
"A gas vehicle arrived, with identification signs. Literally 15–20 minutes later, there was an explosion. But before that, it was heard that something like a grinder was cutting, because it is very well heard through the pipes. I thought – gas – and they are behaving like this. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but yes, then everything happened – everything collapsed, even my things fell off the shelves," said a resident of the building, Danida.
"I work at night. I had just fallen asleep after my shift. I only heard everything shake, looked from the balcony – the windows had blown out. I thought – what happened, I went to the stairwell. They were shouting for everyone to get out. I ran out immediately," recalls another resident of the building.
"The house shook. Completely. I live on the third floor. Right now, I don’t even care if I can return, but I want to get my cat. He was left in the apartment," specifies Janis.
"I think this story will last a long time. I think we definitely won’t be able to enter for at least three days. Frankly speaking, it’s a big problem – with other family members. For example, with the cats. It’s impossible to get to them. A man lived in the apartment, he seemed to go to work. He lived alone. Below his apartment lived a girl. She was trapped. When she ran out, the door had to be broken down for her to escape," said a resident of the affected building, Andris.
Several floors and apartments collapsed, and numerous emergency services are working at the site. 40 residents of the building were evacuated. The Riga municipality provided Rīgas satiksme buses and everything necessary to assist people left homeless.
"We have already organized one bus that can accommodate evacuated residents and those who are on their way. Another bus from Rīgas satiksme is heading here. A crane is also on its way to begin debris removal work — in case there are people left under them. We have also contacted Rīgas satiksme — if needed, another crane will be provided," clarified the chairman of the Riga City Council, Viesturs Kleinbergs, in the evening.
It is known that the apartment where the explosion occurred was owned by the municipality. A person had lived there since 2015. It is unknown when and if the residents will be able to return to the building, as it has not yet been inspected by a building inspector.
The rush, chaos, and efforts of each representative of the involved services in eliminating the consequences of the destruction and assisting the victims continue to this day. Both the debris removal and further investigation in the coming days will provide more answers about the tragedy in Tornkalns.
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