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Tengrinews.kz - On the evening of August 25, a man set himself on fire near a ticket counter at Almaty Airport. The following morning, a Tengrinews.kz correspondent visited the scene to learn what was happening in the terminal after the incident and what employees were saying.
By the morning of August 26, the atmosphere at Almaty Airport was calm. The only reminders of the previous day’s events were a faint smell of smoke and white traces left by fire extinguishers.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
Judging by the extinguisher powder, the incident occurred at the office of the Nur Ai & Co travel agency. The office remained closed, with a mop and bucket visible inside. It appeared that staff had started to clean up but then abandoned the effort.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
Some passengers rushing to their flights pointed at the ticket office, asking, “What happened here?” — apparently unaware of the news.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
Most airport business employees shrugged when asked about the incident: “We only started our shift this morning. We didn’t see anything and don’t know,” they said.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
A staff member of a capsule hotel shed a little more light, sharing what airport workers were whispering about.
“The man set himself on fire because his tickets had expired, he missed his train, and they refused to change them,” she said, while clarifying: “I didn’t see it myself — colleagues told me.”
How accurate this explanation is remains uncertain; for now, such reports are only rumors.
Police earlier told Tengrinews.kz that the man’s act was allegedly motivated by a personal conflict with his common-law wife.
A nearby ticket office employee also had not witnessed the event directly but repeated what colleagues told her:
“They said he came already doused in gasoline. The girls noticed the smell and immediately called security. Apparently, he still had some gasoline with him,” she explained.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
By around 10 a.m., a cleaner arrived at the scene to wash extinguisher powder off the office’s exterior.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
While photographing the site, our correspondent was approached by police officers who informally shared their version. According to them, the man indeed entered the airport already covered in gasoline.
“He had argued with his wife or girlfriend and missed his train. His tickets had expired. He came here to exchange them for plane tickets, demanding that railway tickets be swapped for airline ones. Some say he may have been drunk,” the officers said.
When asked if the man’s wife had been behind the counter, the officers clarified: “No, she was not there. He was supposed to travel to her by train, but his ticket expired.”
The police stressed that both law enforcement and airport security had been in control throughout.
“Everyone had extinguishers ready. It was hard to prevent it — you don’t know if he has a knife or a bomb. Police here can’t just shoot him like in America, or beat him — that would be abuse of power,” they explained.
Photo © Tengrinews.kz / Nikita Danilin
Another airport employee shared a version he heard from colleagues:
“Some say he came in with a gasoline bottle. But how could he get inside with it? More likely, he poured it over himself at a nearby gas station,” he said.
Tengrinews.kz attempted to reach the travel agency directly, but calls to the number listed on the office door went unanswered.
What happened
On Monday evening, the man set himself on fire in Terminal T-1 of Almaty Airport. Police officers together with airport security staff immediately took safety measures: they extinguished the flames and called an ambulance. Doctors transported the victim to a city hospital.
A criminal case has been opened, and investigative actions are underway.
Later, a video of the incident surfaced. In the footage received by our editorial office, a man wearing a baseball cap and jacket can be seen standing at the ticket counter. Then flames erupt, he runs out and falls to the floor. Bystanders extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers.
Doctors have reported on the man's condition as of August 26.
