BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 24. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed the Government Commission to take all necessary measures to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths of servicemen during military exercises in the Mangystau region on September 24, the press service of the Kazakh president said.
“President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his deep condolences to the families and relatives of the servicemen who died as a result of a tragic incident during military exercises in the Mangystau region,” the press service said.
The president also instructed the Government Commission to assist the families of those who died.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported earlier today that 19 servicemen had been swept into the sea during exercises in the Mangystau region on the Caspian Sea coast. The deaths of nine servicemen have been confirmed so far. Three servicemen were rescued, including one who was hospitalized. The search for the remaining servicemen is ongoing.
According to the ministry, rescue forces and equipment were immediately dispatched to the scene. Units of the Naval Forces, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, aviation, and other relevant services are involved in the search and rescue operation.
Following the incident, a Government Commission was established by order of Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov to investigate the causes of the servicemen’s deaths.
The commission includes the Minister of Defense, representatives of the Akimat of Mangystau region, senior officials from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Healthcare and the Ministry of Transport, as well as the Chief Military Prosecutor and representatives of the Border Service.
Bektenov instructed Commission Chairman Kanat Bozumbayev to immediately travel to the emergency site and begin work to ensure a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the servicemen’s deaths and provide assistance to the families of those who died.
