Investigators Confirm One Killed, Eight Injured By Blasts At Siberian Ammo Depot
Investigators Confirm One Killed, Eight Injured By Blasts At Siberian Ammo Depot.
By Siberia Desk, RFE/RL’s Russian Service
Russia’s Investigative Committee has confirmed the death of one person and increased the number of injured to eight from a series of blasts at an ammunition depot in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk.
The Investigative Committee said on August 6 that it had launched a probe into “the violation of regulations of dealing with weapons and items that may cause danger to people and that led to manslaughter” in connection with the explosions at the depot near the city of Achinsk.
The statement added that preliminary findings suggested that the explosions were caused by a fire that started during the loading and unloading of ammunition at the depot on August 5.
Achinsk Mayor Ilai Akhmetov said on August 6 that people from the districts close to the depot will be able to return home by the end of the day as the state of emergency in and around the city was lifted.
The deputy governor of the region, Aleksei Podkorytov, said that more than 9,500 local residents and military personnel were evacuated from the area, while more than 6,000 others left on their own.
Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov, who arrived in Achinsk, said on August 6 that there were plans to shut the depot.
Photographs of the incident showed a huge explosion on the horizon with flames leaping into the sky followed by belching black smoke.