A large fire in a Russian explosives factory killed at least 15 people on Friday, local authorities said, adding that another person was hospitalized with severe burns, and one more was missing.
The property is located in the Ryazan region, about 200 km south of Moscow.
According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the disaster broke out in a workshop at the Elastik industrial site, specializing in the manufacture of industrial explosives and ammunition, and would have started "at the end of a technological process". More than 170 firefighters and rescuers and dozens of firefighting vehicles were dispatched to the scene, according to the rescue services. Russian Acting Minister of Emergency Situations, Alexander Tchouprian, also visited the scene and announced that "nothing threatened the population" of neighboring localities. His ministry released images of smoke floating above a partially blown up construction and charred debris. The site appears to be in the middle of a forest.
#Russia 🇷🇺: Fatal fire in a factory in the #Riazan region
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The fire may have been caused by a "violation of technological processes" and "security standards", according to a source within the police, quoted by the Interfax news agency.
The Russian Investigation Committee, responsible for the main criminal cases in the country, has also announced the opening of an investigation for "violation of safety rules on a dangerous site resulting in reckless death".
Frequent dramas
Accidents in factories, explosives or fireworks storage sites are quite common in Russia, especially with regard to the army ammunition depot. In October 2020, a brush fire caused a fire and powerful explosions in an ammunition depot in the same region of Ryazan, leading to the evacuation of around 2,000 people from neighboring villages.
More generally, accidental and deadly explosions or fires are frequent due to the dilapidated infrastructure, often Soviet ones, or the non-respect of safety standards.
In December 2020, eleven people were killed in a fire inside a nursing home in the Urals region.
In January 2020, this time eleven and four people died in separate fires in Tomsk and Moscow in homes for migrants.
The most serious in recent years was in 2018, when 64 people died in a shopping center ravaged by flames, whose alarm systems and emergency exits were inoperative.
