Transvaal Park is a sports and entertainment complex located in the south-west of Moscow, in the Yasnevo microdistrict.
Unfortunately, the word "entertaining" has long ceased to fit in with this famous building, because in 2004 on February 14 there was a terrible tragedy that claimed many innocent lives. However, more about everything further.
History
The very first Moscow water park "Transvaal Park" was opened in 2002, which greatly pleased many residents of the capital. The total area of the building was 20, 200 m² (to make it clear, the complex could accommodate more than 2, 000 visitors per day).
The first floor of the water park was occupied by a large restaurant, a bowling alley with 12 paths, a billiard room, a cafe, engineering equipment and administration premises.
On the second floor there was a fast food cafe with 100 seats, a left-luggage office, the main lobby with a dressing room.
The third floor was occupied by a beauty salon and a gym.
The water park itself was a model of the southern sea, surrounded by cliffs and marine vegetation.
Projectors and investors
"Transvaal Park", built in the shape of a whale tail, was designed and built according to the design of the workshop "Sergey Kiselev and partners." The chief engineer was Nodar Kancheli, who was subsequently accused of what happened. The main investor, in fact, as well as the customer, was CJSC European Technologies and Service. The contractor was a Turkish company called Kochak Insaat Limited, which managed to invest in short construction periods - 1.5 years.
Tragedy in the Transvaal Park
On February 14, 2004, at 7 pm Moscow time, when nothing portended trouble, the roof suddenly collapsed in Transvaal Park. This tragedy shocked all of Russia. Why did the once-famous entertainment complex collapse like a matchhouse?
At the time of the tragedy, about 1300 people were in the building. 400 of them had fun in the basin and adjacent zone of the water park.
The collapse area was simply stunning - almost 5, 000 m². The dome, towering above the building, fell on the entire water part, it did not touch only the adult pool. Unfortunately, a playground with water attractions turned out to be under the collapsed hulk.
Also under the rubble was an amphitheater, a fitness center, office space, a cafe and a lounge with cash registers.
After the collapse, almost naked people found themselves in a 20-degree frost under glass and debris.
Death toll
How many lives did Transvaal Park take? The dead under the debris are mainly residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. Among them are also representatives of Magadan, Dushanbe and even Lithuania.
According to official data, Transvaal Park, the photo of which is presented below, claimed the lives of 28 people, 8 of which are children. More than 120 innocent people were seriously injured and injured.
Rescue operation
In just a few minutes, virtually all emergency services in Moscow arrived at the scene. About 100 rescuers and more than a dozen units of special equipment were involved in the rescue operation.
Rescuers worked without rest all night. To analyze the rubble they used exclusively hand tools: crowbars, sledge hammers, jack hammers, etc.
During the rescue operation, another part of the dome collapsed. But in this case, to the greatest joy, no one was hurt.
The work was completed only in the morning of February 16.
Who is guilty of the tragedy
Why did Transvaal Park collapse? The collapse, which terrified the whole of Russia, could not be ignored. Therefore, the Moscow prosecutor’s office took seriously this matter. The investigation lasted a long time - as much as 1 year and 8 months.
During this time, investigators examined more than a dozen different objects and interviewed about 300 people. Over this long period of time, more than 240 examinations were conducted, in particular, construction and technical examinations, and several dozen versions were examined, which took into account the meteorological causes of the tragedy and the bombing of terrorists.
Most of all, investigators were inclined to the fact that low-quality building materials were used during construction, as well as all kinds of design errors were made.
This version turned out to be established during the investigation: Transvaal Park collapsed due to gross design errors that were made during the development and calculation of the project. The erected building did not meet regulatory requirements for reliability and safety for people."
The charges were brought against the chief engineer of the project Nodar Kancheli and the head of the extra-departmental examination Anatoly Voronin.
Punishment for the guilty
On September 5, 2006, at the request of lawyers, an amnesty was applied to Nodar Kancheli in honor of the 100th anniversary of the State Duma. Anatoly Voronin also did not suffer punishment, since the Moscow prosecutor's office terminated the criminal case against him.
What is now in place of Transvaal Park
Now at the site of the collapsed water park is a multifunctional center called Moreon.
The entertainment complex was opened in 2013. Its area is 55, 000 m². Of which 2500 m² - a water park. The complex is designed for 4000 people.
