Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  On 20 October 2024, three individuals were found dead in a hotel in Tashkent, including two Russian nationals. This was reported by Hayot Shamsutdinov, spokesperson for the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan.

According to the Russian Telegram channel Baza, one of the deceased Russians was Inessa Papernaia, born in 1977, who worked for the magazine "Profil" and collaborated with "Lenta.ru." Her friend, born in 1979, was also among the victims. The General Prosecutor’s Office confirmed this information.

Additionally, a citizen of Uzbekistan, born in 1976, was found dead in another hotel room.

Preliminary data from the forensic examination suggests that the cause of death for all three was poisoning of unknown origin.

An investigation has been launched under paragraph "a" of part 4 of Article 186 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, which pertains to the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements. An inquiry is currently underway.

Baza reported that a possible cause of the tragedy could be gas poisoning that entered the ventilation system after the pool was cleaned.