Negligence Factor In Russian Power Plant Accident

The head of Russia's industrial safety watchdog says negligence was a major factor in an accident that killed 75 workers at a large hydroelectric plant, and suggests that high-level officials could face trial.

Rostekhnadzor director Nikolai Kutin outlined a report on the August accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam and described its technical causes in chilling detail.

He said Saturday that part of an overstressed turbine unit snapped off and sailed into the air, starting flooding, short circuits and wreckage that crippled the plant and doomed dozens of workers in seconds.

He says the report names several people whose decisions helped set the stage for the disaster, including the former state-controlled utility company chief Anatoly Chubais.