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Dam Head Charged

The former head of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant has been formally charged over last year’s disaster that killed 75 people, an Investigative Committee spokesman told Interfax on Thursday.

Nikolai Nevolko faces up to three years in prison on charges of safety rule violations that resulted in deaths, the spokesman said. He said six other people face charges over the incident, but did not identify them.

A turbine exploded, flooding the station’s premises in August 2009, killing dozens of employees and damaging equipment. Repairs are expected to last until 2014.

Investigators have reviewed 1,200 volumes of material related to the incident, and their findings alone take up 26 volumes, the Investigative Committee spokesman said.

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