Power line that caused the death of hotel workers led to the Mekhtiev family's cottage

On November 21, four employees died from electric shock at Lake Hotel located in the Binagadi district of Baku.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to Qafqazinfo, the tenant of the facility, Agasif Verdiev, was conducting maintenance work on the hotel territory in violation of regulatory requirements and labor safety rules. In connection with this, A. Verdiev was detained as a suspect. Later, the court chose detention as a preventive measure against him.

The cause of the tragedy was the use of a window washing structure with a height of 5.75 m, while a 35 kV high-voltage overhead line was running above this area at a height of 5.53 m. During the movement of the structure, it came into contact with the power line, resulting in four workers receiving a fatal electric shock.

According to current regulations, a 35 kV overhead line should be at a height of at least 7 m from the ground. It was discovered that this line was installed in 2009 to provide electricity to an agricultural plot in Novkhany settlement, owned by Galina Mekhtieva - the wife of the former head of the Presidential Administration, Ramiz Mekhtiev, who is currently under investigation.

Of the total area of the plot - 102 hectares - 60 acres were leased to the Friland Vineyards winery, owned by former International Bank chairman Jahangir Hajiyev.

It was also established that in 2016, Mərəndə LLC, engaged in wine production, was registered in the name of Aytaj Mekhtieva. In 2017, the company was acquired by Friland Vineyards. Despite the change of founder in 2022, both Mərəndə LLC and the winery actually belong to R. Mekhtiev's son - Teymur Mekhtiev.

Currently, the winery, land plot, and vineyards are powered by the same 35 kV line. Thus, the business owned by the ex-head of the Presidential Administration and his relatives was created and operated in violation of legislation. It was these violations that ultimately led to the deaths of four people.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 162.3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the investigation continues.