Cases / Cyanide spill · Kyrgyzstan · 1998
Kyrgyzstan 1998 cyanide accident: residents not informed for five hours
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
A 1998 cyanide accident in Kyrgyzstan was not disclosed to residents for five hours. Compensation covered only a small part of the damage, and a claim by 54 victims was rejected 24 years later.
What?
A cyanide accident in Kyrgyzstan in 1998 was not disclosed to residents for five hours, and compensation was small. RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi)
Where?
Kyrgyzstan RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi)
When?
Accident in 1998; claim dismissed 24 years later (reported April 2022). RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi)
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Residents near the accident — Not informed for five hours; compensation covered a small part of the damage RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi)
Harmed
- 54 victims in the claim — Claim rejected 24 years after the accident RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi)
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
A cyanide accident; the warning was delayed and compensation limited. RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Residents were not told about the 1998 cyanide accident for five hours, according to reports by RFE/RL and paper.people.com.cn.
Compensation covered only a small part of the damage, RFE/RL reported.
A claim by 54 victims was dismissed 24 years after the accident, RFE/RL reported.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not name the operator, company or government body responsible for the accident.
- None on record The sources do not state the amount of compensation paid or the total damage.
- Disputed The sources give different dates for the 5-hour report (2020 and 2024), so the date of that report is not confirmed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Cyanide spill compensation in gold mining (Qishloq Ovozi, RFE/RL)RFE/RL (Qishloq Ovozi) · 2022-04
- Report on the Kyrgyzstan 1998 cyanide accident (Chinese-language)paper.people.com.cn ·
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Baia Mare cyanide spill Romania · 2000–2009 Related matter