On September 21, 2026, in the Botalovo-4-4 microdistrict of the Bor urban district in Nizhny Novgorod Region, two emergency repair plumbers employed by Voda Nizhnego Novgoroda LLC" ("Nizhny Novgorod Water" LLC) died while working inside a sewage collector.[1][2] The criminal case opened in connection with the tragedy was placed under the personal supervision of the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

Circumstances of the incident

The tragedy occurred at around five o'clock in the evening on September 21, 2026, on Metallurgov Street in Botalovo-4.[1] Two men — born in 1980 and 1988 (aged 46 and 38) — died inside a sewage collector during emergency repair work.[3] Emergency services personnel arrived at the scene promptly, but the workers could not be saved: specialists recovered the bodies of the deceased from the collector.[3] The State Labor Inspectorate of Nizhny Novgorod Region confirmed that both workers were on the staff of Voda Nizhnego Novgoroda LLC"; the agency began investigating the circumstances of the incident jointly with law enforcement authorities.[1][2]

Criminal case and Bastrykin's oversight

The Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod Region has opened a criminal case under the article on violation of occupational safety requirements resulting in the negligent deaths of two persons.[3] A forensic medical examination has been ordered; investigators are carrying out a range of measures to establish all the circumstances of the tragedy and are preparing to make a legal assessment of the actions of those responsible for compliance with safety regulations during work in the collector.[4][3] The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, has taken the investigation under his personal supervision.

The outlet "Govorit Nizhniy" noted that the deaths of two workers in Bor are not the only such incident in the region in 2026: at the end of August of the same year, an employee of the Bogorodsk water utility died while clearing a sewage line.[2]

Sources

  1. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — Two workers died in a sewage collector in Bor on September 21 — Zhivem v Nizhnem
  2. Govorit Nizhniy — Two workers died in a sewage collector in Bor
  3. GIPERNN — The Investigative Committee is investigating the deaths of two workers in a sewage collector in Bor
  4. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — Criminal case opened following deaths of workers in a sewage collector in Bor — Zhivem v Nizhnem