Three people were killed and five were injured in an explosion at the Avangard explosives plant in the city of Sterlitamak in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, the head of the Ural region, Radiy Khabirov, said today on the Telegram app, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
The explosion occurred last night. Investigators are investigating the causes of the blast, Khabirov said, denying that it was caused by Ukrainian drone strikes.
Emergency services announced today that search and rescue operations at the plant, which lasted all night, have ended.
The Avangard plant produces industrial explosives and disposes of old ammunition. Since 2022, the site has been controlled by the Russian state industrial conglomerate “Rostec“.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin-appointed head of the occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, announced today that two people had been killed in the region in a Ukrainian drone strike. According to him, the two were living in a center for temporary accommodation of evacuees.