Two people have been detained in Daghestan as part of a criminal investigation into the dam breach at the Gedzhukh reservoir earlier in April, which led to the deaths of eight people and large-scale flooding of settlements in the Derbent district. The individuals in question are an unnamed engineer from a commercial organisation responsible for the operation of the hydraulic structure, and Zagid Sadykov, the former director of a company involved in its maintenance.
Until 26 January 2026, he headed a separate division of the Derbent Sparkling Wine Plant, later becoming its founder.
According to the Investigative Committee, both suspects are being investigated for safety violations during work and breaches of environmental protection requirements. Investigators believe the suspects failed to ensure proper monitoring of the dam’s condition and took no measures to prevent the accident, despite signs of an imminent threat.
Specifically, investigators allege that the engineer was aware the structure was in an unsatisfactory condition. Nevertheless, reporting documents submitted to the regulatory body reportedly contained ‘inaccurate information regarding the facility’s operational integrity’.
The dam breach occurred on 6 April at the Gedzhukh reservoir, located near the settlement of Mamedkala. The torrent of water flooded residential homes and a federal highway. As a result, vehicles were swept away, infrastructure was destroyed, and hundreds of people were evacuated. Eight people died, including children, women, and a pregnant young woman.
The prosecution asserts that the organisation operating the reservoir failed to rectify previously identified technical violations and lacked an emergency action plan. Searches have been conducted at the company’s offices. While the entity’s name has not been officially disclosed, it appears to refer to the company named DZIV-2 LLC.
The Gedzhukh reservoir is owned by authorities but was leased long-term to the Derbent Sparkling Wine Plant (DZIV-2), which is owned by Magomed Sadulaev, a Daghestani MP. He claimed he had warned the authorities of the potential danger as early as the morning of 5 April, the day before the collapse, but said there was no reaction. Sadulaev also maintains that no serious defects had been recorded at the site previously.
Meanwhile, as far back as 2006, the dam’s condition was declared potentially dangerous. In 2014, certain works were carried out at the site — specifically the reconstruction of the spillway and syphon, and the construction of a pumping station — but there is no information in open sources regarding a full modernisation of the hydraulic structure. The company has already announced its readiness to allocate approximately ₽300 million ($4 million) for the restoration of the affected territories.
Efforts to manage the consequences of the floods, caused by heavy rainfall in late March and early April, are currently ongoing in the region. According to official data, at least 760 residential houses and over 800 private plots remain flooded. Tens of thousands of people have filed applications to be recognised as victims. A federal-level state of emergency was previously declared in Daghestan and neighbouring Chechnya.
