The Akaltyn District Criminal Court sentenced six people on 21 September 2026 for their roles in a gas cylinder explosion at the Bek teahouse in Gulistan that killed six cooks and left dozens injured on 2 December 2025. The verdict, which includes prison terms of up to three and a half years and restrictions on future employment, also upheld the seizure of real estate and eight vehicles worth 8.7 billion soums belonging to two linked businesses.
Three defendants were convicted of violating both occupational safety and fire safety regulations with serious consequences. The remaining three were found guilty of violating occupational safety regulations. The teahouse manager received the heaviest sentence: three and a half years in prison and a two-and-a-half-year ban on holding positions involving financial responsibility at catering establishments. Two other defendants — identified in court materials as employees of the establishment — were each sentenced to three years and one month in prison and barred from working in the catering sector for one and a half years.
The three remaining defendants, connected to the vehicle gas-filling station in Mirzaabad District where the cylinders were illegally refilled, received restricted-freedom sentences rather than imprisonment. One was given a four-year restriction and a two-year ban on conducting business involving vehicle fuel filling. The other two each received three-and-a-half-year restricted-freedom sentences and were barred from working at vehicle gas-filling stations for two years.
How the Explosion Happened
Court materials established that the explosion was triggered by a gas leak from a cylinder manufactured in 2010. The cylinder cracked after being exposed to high temperatures from a burner on a kitchen boiler. Its last technical inspection had been carried out in 2015 — a decade before the incident. The kitchen also contained cylinders manufactured in 2000, 2013 and 2018, none of which had undergone timely technical inspections.
The day before the explosion, teahouse employees took four cylinders to the vehicle gas-filling station in Mirzaabad District. That station was not licensed to sell liquefied gas for domestic cylinders, yet the cylinders were filled regardless. On the morning of 2 December, they were connected to kitchen stoves and boilers. One cylinder exploded at 10:50 a.m.
The teahouse manager told the court that the establishment had switched to propane cylinders in October 2025 because of low gas pressure in the area. He said he had authorised their use without fully understanding the applicable safety regulations, and partially admitted guilt. He also told the court that the establishment had provided financial assistance to the injured and to the families of those killed, and he apologised to victims’ relatives. He asked the court to consider that he has four dependent children, one of whom has a disability.
Asset Seizures and Financial Consequences
Beyond the custodial sentences, the court upheld the seizure of real estate valued at 8.7 billion soums and eight vehicles belonging to Bek Family Cafe and Guliston GTSh. The seizure will remain in force until the claims of interested parties have been fully considered by the court.
Aftermath and Presidential Response
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, initial reports recorded three deaths and 29 people hospitalised with burns of varying severity. The death toll subsequently rose to six. On 4 December 2025, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the injured at the Syrdarya Regional Branch of the Republican Scientific Centre for Emergency Medical Care and expressed condolences to the families of those killed.
