A massive explosion at a bomb-making plant in Russia has injured 79 people and damaged 180 homes in the city of Dzerzhinsk.

Officials said the factory was used to make and store bombs and other explosive devices for the Russian military. The facility, JSC Kristall Research Institute, was completely demolished by the blast.

Five people were working there at the time, but all got out safely, according to the BBC.

The injured were hurt by glass shards from windows smashed by the explosion’s shock waves. </s> A blast at a major explosives plant in central Russia Saturday injured 79 people and damaged nearly 200 buildings nearby, local officials told Russian news agencies.

The explosion happened at the "Kristall" factory in Dzerzhinsk about 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Moscow, in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

A local health ministry official quoted by the TASS news agency said 79 people had suffered light or moderate injuries, a huge increase on the initial figure of 19.

"According to the latest information, 79 people asked for medical help after the explosion at Kristall: 38 factory workers and 41 residents of the city. There are no children among the injured," a health ministry statement said.

Fifteen people were hospitalised but none had life-threatening injuries, it said.

Of the injured, 14 had to be hospitalised, but no one had been killed, said the spokesman.

Earlier, health ministry officials told news agencies that the wounded had "shrapnel wounds of mild and moderate severity" and that they were receiving medical assistance.

The force of the blast damaged five factory buildings and 180 houses nearby.

The deputy governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Dmitry Krasnov, told Russian state television that two people were missing.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into potential violations of industrial safety at the plant.

Local emergency services told news agencies that more than 300 people and 50 technical vehicles were taking part in cleaning the plant following the explosion.

Representatives of Kristall told Interfax that five people were working in the area where the explosion occurred and were safely evacuated.

There was no information yet on where the injured were at the time of the blast.

Local fire fighters told agencies they had no information about any more people still inside the plant, which was set up in 1953.

"There was a explosion in one of the workshops, followed by a fire of around 100 square meters," a spokesman of the local emergency ministry told news agencies.

Images on social media showed a large cloud of smoke billowing from the building after the explosion. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption The explosion sent a mushroom cloud into the sky above Dzerzhinsk

A factory explosion in the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk has injured 79 people and damaged 180 homes nearby.

City officials say that the factory was used to produce and store high-explosive bombs for the military.

They add that the processing facility at the JSC Kristall Research Institute plant has been completely destroyed by the blast.

A factory official says five people were inside at the time, but they were safely evacuated.

Most of the people who were hurt were cut by flying glass from the explosion, which also caused a shockwave that smashed windows in homes and other factories in the city.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The shockwave smashed windows in buildings near the factory

Dzerzhinsk city officials have declared an emergency in the surrounding areas, while the Investigative Committee of Russia says it has launched a criminal investigation into potential safety violations at the plant.

A local health ministry statement says: "According to the latest information, 79 people asked for medical help after the explosion at Kristall: 38 factory workers and 41 residents of the city. There are no children among the injured."

It adds that 15 people were hospitalised, but no one had died.

Earlier, a local health official said that most victims were suffering from "shrapnel wounds of mild and moderate severity".

Meanwhile residents have posted photos on social media showing a huge mushroom cloud billowing out over the blast area.

Officials said it was a "technical explosion" in one of the workshops, which caused a fire of around 100 sq m.

Last August three people died in another factory blast in Dzerzhinsk, in central Russia, which is believed to be one of the world's most polluted cities. </s> An explosion at a Russian TNT plant has injured 79 people, including dozens of local residents who don’t work at the facility, in Dzerzhinsk, about 250 miles east of Moscow. Fifteen of the people who were injured were hospitalized, and one remained in serious condition on Saturday. More than 180 residential buildings near the plant had blasted windows after the explosion. Further information was not immediately available. </s> Eight people have been injured after explosions at a Russian military ammunition depot in Siberia prompted thousands of workers and nearby residents to evacuate.

A fire triggered the explosions at a storage facility for gunpowder charges near the city of Achinsk in eastern Siberia.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in the region and ordered the evacuation of residents of several districts in Achinsk, as well as towns and villages within 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) of the depot. </s> Explosion at Russian ammunition dump injures at least 4

MOSCOW (AP) — An explosion at a Russian military base in Siberia set off fires and injured at least four people Monday, authorities said.

The explosion happened in an ammunition depot at the base, located 10 kilometers from the closed military town of Achinsk in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia.

Emergency service personnel evacuated residents within 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of the blast site "to ensure the security of the population of the settlements located near the depots."

Local authorities say residents don't face an immediate threat but asked people to stay away from the military base.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the storage site that exploded held "gunpowder charges for artillery shells."

The state-run TASS news agency quoted an anonymous source saying the depot held up to 40,000 artillery shells for tank guns.

Ammunition depot explosions are not unusual in Russia. After the most recent incident in May 2019, a fire raged for almost a week before water drops from military aircraft and helicopters helped put out the blaze. </s> • An ammunition dump at a Russian military base in Siberia has exploded, Russia’s TASS reported Monday.
• The depot, according to the Russian defense ministry held “gunpowder charges for artillery shells.” A local emergency services source told state media that the facility held around 40,000 artillery shells.
• At least four people were injured in the blast, medics revealed. Authorities are evacuating local residents who live within 12 miles of the magazine.

An ammunition dump at a Russian military base exploded Monday, setting off fires that injured a handful of people, Russian media reports.

The blast occurred in Achinsk, a military town in Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region. “The explosion went off in an ammunition depot, evacuation is being carried out,” a source with the emergency services in the area told state-run news agency TASS.

“Two sites are on fire,” the source added. “In total, there are about 40 thousand artillery shells of a 125 and 152-mm caliber there.” The Russian defense ministry said the facility contained “gunpowder charges for artillery shells,” the Associated Press reports.

At least four people were hurt, suffering burns and other injuries, local medics told Russian media, which reported that among the injured were one child and three adults.

All personnel have been evacuated from the scene, and local residents within 20 km of the base are being evacuated “to ensure the security of the population of the settlements located near the depots.,” the Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the Krasnoyarsk Region revealed.

An estimated 11,000 people are being evacuated, Sputnik, another Russian media outlet, reports.

Ammunition depot explosions are not uncommon in Russia or former Soviet territories. An explosion at an ammunition storage site, one home to around 13 million shells, in Chapaevsk in Russia’s Samara region back in 2013 injured around 30 people. </s> Explosion at Russian ammunition dump injures at least 2

MOSCOW (AP) — An explosion at a Russian military base in Siberia has set off fires and injured at least two people.

The explosion on Monday was at an ammunition dump at the base, located 10 kilometers from Achinsk, a closed military town in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia.

Emergency services were evacuating residents from the area.

Local authorities say residents don't face an immediate threat but asked people to stay area from the military base.

No information has been released yet about the type of ammunition stored at the base. Several Russian media reports described the facility as a storage site for artillery shells. </s> A series of explosions has rocked an arms depot at a Russian military base in Siberia, injuring eight people and prompting a mass evacuation of residents and the suspension of operations by a nearby aluminum producer.

 

 Russia’s Defense Ministry said on August 5 that it had sent 14 remote-controlled robots to help fight the fire at the Krasnoyarsk Territory Arsenal.

 

 Local officials in the Achinsk district of Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region say 11,000 people were evacuated from neighborhoods near the artillery munitions depot following the explosions and an outbreak of fire earlier in the day.



 

 Photographs of the incident show a huge explosion on the horizon with flames leaping into the sky, followed by belching black smoke.

 

 Russia state-run TASS news agency cited a source as saying that at least one Russian soldier was killed.

 

 But a source from Russia’s Defense Ministry, quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, denied the report about the soldier’s death.

 

 Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer outside China, said it had suspended operations at its aluminum plant in the Achinsk district and evacuated all but essential staff as a safety precaution.

 

 The refinery is located about 30 kilometers from the military base where the explosions occurred.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, Interfax, and TASS
An explosion at a Russian Military high-explosive production and storage facility in the city of Dzerzhinsk injures 79 people.