"We fear for our lives." It took officials four years to declare the famous "sand house" in Engels unsafe: its walls crumble at the touch of a hand.
According to a subscriber NotMoscowResidents of the three-story building have been filing complaints since 2020.
The building is over 60 years old, and its brickwork is turning into dust and sand before our very eyes (hence the legendary nickname - "sand house").
The gaps between the floor and the load-bearing walls are large enough to fit an adult's hand. The ventilation shafts are clogged with cement and brick debris, putting people at risk of carbon monoxide suffocation.
"In 2023, the administration finally conducted an inspection, kept silent about the ventilation ducts and chimneys, and failed to notice any emergency," — notes a resident of the house.
The officials' opinion changed only after a story about the collapsing building was shown on Channel One, and the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia became interested in the situation. Alexander Bastrykin.
"The building was only declared unsafe on September 27th of this year. But it's unknown when the residents will be resettled. We, the residents, are terribly afraid for our lives," says a subscriber.
The number of unsafe housing units in the regions is growing, and resettling them is becoming increasingly difficult. Last week NotMoscow told The Ministry of Construction plans to tighten the law on resettlement from dilapidated housing: if it is adopted, owners of crumbling buildings will be responsible for paying extra for their demolition.
By the way, this morning residents Lipetsk Five-story buildings were unable to get to work due to a collapsed entrance. With a concrete slab hanging over the front door and creating a hazard, rescuers simply stopped letting people out. Those who couldn't miss work left their homes through the attic or first-floor balconies.
The cause of the collapse has not yet been announced. The building is just over 40 years old.