More than 5 dead in Kokpekty flood, locals say

Local residents of Kokpekty village speak about their experience of the flood. The village is located in central Kazakhstan in Karaganda Oblast. Its dam gave way at night on April 1 and release of huge mass of water onto the village. The water went as high as 1.8m in some parts of the village. 

There were officially five victims of the flood. "Their bodies were discovered by rescue crews that were searching the course of the flood in boats. Four bodies were found in the village and the fifth one was a little off," said Murat Katpanov Deputy Head of the Emergencies Department of Karaganda Oblast.

But some of the local residents say that there were more victims then that. "At half past two at night there came a flood wave. The flow was horribly strong. We had to save our children. We nearly died in that flood," alocal resident Svetlana Yevgeyuk recalls. "A lot of people in our village died in the flood. Small children were among them, and babies too," she continues. When asked about the official statistics of five dead she said, "At that street, Zarechnaya street, there were dead bodies laying at around 11 in the morning. Right in the street. 6 dead bodies were found by 11 a.m. but that wasn’t the end of it. There were many more. A World War 2 veteran was among those who died in the flood. He was the last war veteran in our village. He was 92 years old."