Amir Kunakunov. Photo from the victim's family archive
The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Kanatbek Chynybaev, has received a strict reprimand from President Sadyr Japarov, according to the head of state's press service. Deputy Minister Almazbek Asanov was dismissed from his post by government decree. The disciplinary actions come in the wake of the death of 14-year-old Amir Kunakunov, who perished in the Ala-Archa mountains while awaiting rescue.
As AKIpress reported, two other ministry officials were also relieved of their duties: Azis Egemberdiev, head of the Crisis Management Center, and Tynarbek Murashov, head of the State Rescuer Training Center.
The dismissals followed an inspection by the Presidential Administration, which uncovered grave operational failures within the ministry, particularly concerning rapid emergency response and search coordination.
A day earlier, while still in office, Asanov acknowledged that the ministry felt moral culpability for the teenager's death. He also explained why aviation was deployed late in the search for Kunakunov. According to the official, mountain searches initially rely on ground teams, with helicopters brought in later depending on the nature of the incident and weather conditions. Asanov added at the time that the ministry intended to conduct an internal inquiry to evaluate the actions of its personnel.
On November 11, it was revealed that Kyrgyzstan's Military Prosecutor's Office had launched a criminal negligence case regarding Kunakunov’s death in the Ala-Archa National Nature Park. Further details, including whether any suspects had been identified, were not disclosed.
The tragedy occurred on November 7. Realizing he was lost while descending the mountain, Kunakunov dialed the emergency services hotline. Emergency dispatchers successfully pinpointed the boy’s exact location via geolocation data. However, the on-duty rescue team received the coordinates late—three hours after Amir called for help. The ministry blamed the delay on the lack of mobile coverage in the mountainous area.
The search operation continued over the next two days. On November 9, rescue teams discovered Amir's body near Elektro Peak. Preliminary findings indicate the teenager died of hypothermia.
