Russian advisor and his wife die in Tskhinvali

The death of Igor Gal, Russia's advisor on public health matters, and his wife was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, the South-Ossetian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has suggested. Their death occurred amid a scandal with the supply of medicines, a "Caucasian Knot" blogger has noted.

"Their bodies were found at the place of residence, in a rented housing in central Tskhinvali, in the afternoon on Monday, February 3," a source from the Ministry of Public Health told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The bodies have no signs of death through violence, the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of South Ossetia has informed. "To establish the death cause, the bodies were transported to North Ossetia, where experts will perform an autopsy," the source told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the preliminary version, Igor Gal and his wife died from carbon monoxide poisoning, said Tarzan Kokoity, the chief of staff of the South-Ossetian MIA.

Alan Parastaev, the author of a blog run on the "Caucasian Knot" entitled "South Ossetia as it is, was and could have been", has noted that Gal died amid the scandal with shipment of medicines. "The death of a person who was directly involved in addressing the healthcare problems in South Ossetia has impressed me greatly," the blogger has written.

Since the end of 2019, residents of South Ossetia began complaining about the shortage of medical supplies in hospitals. This January, the South-Ossetian GPO began examining the medical warehouses, the Central Hospital and the pharmacy administration.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 3, 2020 at 07:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.