A verdict has been passed in the case of a deadly excursion along the Neglinka River. What you need to know about diggers

On April 28, digger Nikita Dubas was sentenced to 8.5 years in a penal colony for organizing a deadly walk through the sewers of the Neglinka River in Moscow. Alexander Kim, the former CEO of the Sputnik tour aggregator, received 5.5 years in prison. They will serve their sentences in a general regime colony. What is the danger of digger trips — in the material of Izvestia.

Who are diggers?

Diggers are those who make their way into tunnels, sewers, abandoned bomb shelters and other urban facilities that are closed or located underground. Their activities are prohibited in Russia by Article 215.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Illegal entry into a protected object").

• Diggers often ignore basic safety rules and laws. Entering protected or technically dangerous facilities without permission can often lead to an emergency. Many diggers end up trapped in rubble, get lost in mazes, or get injured.

What is the danger of diggerism?

• Various natural phenomena, such as sudden downpours, can lead to flooding of the facility. It is extremely difficult to get out in such a situation. There are pockets in underground sewers where you can hide, but they are not everywhere. When flooding, the first wave of water is usually small, and after that there is about a minute to find a ladder or something to cling to. In addition, the debris brought by the rain is dangerous. Hitting any object in a strong stream of water can be fatal.

The course of circumstances: those responsible for the tragedy in the collector were sentenced

Relatives of the victims called for stricter control over tour aggregators

• Old communications are dangerous in themselves. So, during excursions, the ceiling may collapse. Some facilities also accumulate toxic or explosive gases due to poor ventilation system performance. There are also often fungi, mold, rats, and toxic waters underground that are dangerous to health.

• It is easy to get lost in underground sewers and tunnels. Even experienced diggers sometimes get lost, because cellular communications underground usually don't work. At the same time, the lighting is quite poor or there is none at all.

• Almost all underground urban facilities are secure (additional security measures have been installed for them). If they are penetrated, the violator may face a fine or even criminal liability. Visiting such facilities by strangers also hinders the work of those who are supposed to ensure the safety of the city.

What happened on the Neglinka River

The tragedy occurred in Moscow on August 20, 2023. Despite warnings of a possible downpour, they decided not to cancel the planned tour of the Neglinka River reservoir. Seven tourists went underground, including two teenagers and a guide, digger Konstantin Filippov. They entered the underground utilities through the sewer hatch on Durov Street. The tour route is from the Durov Theater to the Metropol Hotel. For this, its participants paid 9 thousand rubles. About an hour after the descent, a heavy downpour hit the capital.

• The water level of the underground river rose when the group was in the area of the Trubnaya metro station. They could not get to the surface, all the participants of the excursion died. The bodies of the victims later washed up in the Moskva River. A criminal case was initiated under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements.

• Several people became involved in the case, all of them heads of companies involved in the organization of the excursion.

— Alexander Kim, head of the Sputnik company, which acted as an aggregator on which guides could post information about their services;

— Alexander Lazovsky, CEO of the Avangard company, which sold tickets;

— Boris Plotitsa, former owner of the Tripster website, who helped organize unusual exploitations around the world.

According to the investigation, they, in coordination with Nikita Dubas, another person involved in the case, who compiled travel announcements and directly organized them, posted information about excursions. At the same time, they all understood the illegality of the services offered, but they hid it from their clients.

• After the incident, Alexander Lazovsky fled to the UAE. Boris Plotitsa also disappeared. They were put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia. A criminal case was also opened against the deceased guide Konstantin Filippov. However, it was closed upon death.

• Alexander Kim, General Director of the Sputnik tour company, was sentenced to five and a half years in a general regime penal colony. He did not admit his guilt. Kim noted that he created the platform itself with announcements about excursions, but did not participate in their organization, being involved in the IT side of the project. Nikita Dubas, the author of the tour announcement, received eight and a half years. He pleaded partially guilty.

• This is not the only case when unauthorized excursions underground ended in death. Another tragedy occurred in St. Petersburg. In July 2019, St. Petersburg digger Alexey Kulakov (MegaVolt) and video blogger Pavel Shpuntenkov (Road to film) descended into the main sewer on the embankment of the Karpovka River to shoot a new video for the blog. In the morning, their bodies were found at the bottom of an open well. The video blogger fell to the bottom of the well and crashed, and his companion died of suffocation while trying to save his friend.

When preparing the material, Izvestia took into account the opinions of

• Alexey Dudarev, a member of Rossoyuzspas;
• survival expert Eduard Khalilov.