The three drivers of a bus in which 52 Uzbek nationals died in a fire last week have been detained, the prosecutor's office in Kazakhstan's northwestern region of Aqtobe said on January 25.
The three drivers, all of whom are Kazakh citizens, were charged with violating fire-safety regulations for vehicles, the prosecutor's said in a statement.
According to the statement, the cause of the deadly bus fire on January 18 was an open flame on a portable gas cooker that was being used for heating inside the vehicle.
The accident occurred in the Yrghyz district of Kazakhstan’s northwestern Aqtobe region as the bus was traveling from Kazakhstan’s southern city of Shymkent to the Russian city of Samara.
Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have set up state commissions to investigate the fire.
Many people from Uzbekistan travel to Russia as migrant workers, and the long routes pass through Kazakhstan.