Blast rocks factory outside Moscow, leaving at least one dead and dozens injuredBy Snejana Farberov
August 9, 2023
A massive explosion rocked an industrial plant in northeast Moscow that develops devices for the Russian military, killing one person and injuring at least 55 others, officials said.
The blast, which occurred around 10:40 a.m. local time, obliterated a warehouse at the site of Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant, state news agency TASS reported.
The plant, located in the town of Sergiev Posad about 30 miles northeast of downtown Moscow, produces optical and medical equipment for industrial and healthcare applications, as well as for the Russian security forces, according to its website.
The 17,200-square-foot warehouse that was struck had been leased by a private pyrotechnics company called “Pyro-Ross,” TASS reported.
The powerful detonation sent a towering mushroom cloud of thick black smoke rising into the overcast morning sky and blew out windows in nearby high-rise buildings.
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Some Russian media reported that a drone attack caused the blast at the manufacturing site. But multiple Russian authorities, including regional governor Andrei Vorobyov and Russia’s Investigative Committee, denied that.
Local authorities did not say exactly what caused the blast, but emergency services cited a “human factor.”
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top federal law enforcement agency, said in a statement it has launched a criminal probe on charges of violating “industrial safety requirements at hazardous production facilities.”
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/08/09/blast-rocks-plant-outside-moscow-killing-1-and-injuring-55/
