35 villagers die in Kazakhstan flood.

ASTANA, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - The death toll from the flood in the
village of Kyzyl-Agash in Kazakhstan's Alma Ata region has reached 35, the
mass media reported on Saturday.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev called for opening a criminal
case against the owner of the reservoir whose dam ruptured, flooding the
village. "The Prosecutor General's Office or the Interior Ministry should
open criminal proceedings against the owner of the reservoir. He must be
held responsible, in connection with the death of so many people,"
Nazarbayev said at a meeting with the officials from the government crisis
commission.
"Chile, China and Turkey were hit by earthquakes. Those were natural
disasters which could not be resisted. But failing to check the dam safety
on time, warn the population of danger and take actions to evacuate them
should be viewed as a crime," the Kazinform news agency quoted Nazarbayev
as saying.
Prime Minister Karim Masimov said all villagers had been evacuated as
of Saturday, and accommodated at dormitories or barracks.
"The urgent issues are mostly settled; resources are due to be
allocated on Monday," Masimov said.
The Kyzylagash dam burst at around 22:00 on March 11, flooding 257
households in the village with a population of 3,000.
Nazarbayev conveyed his condolences to the families of the fatalities.

-0-myz