MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russian investigators have launched a probe into multiple explosions that have rocked an ammunition depot in central Russia believed to be storing millions of shells.
The fire at the ammunition testing site near the city of Chapaevsk, in Russia’s Samara Region, broke out late Tuesday, followed by a series of explosions that have ripped through the area, sending shrapnel flying over a distance of up to a kilometer from the site.
The Russian Investigative Committee said on Wednesday that the depot housed "some 18 million shells" of various calibers, according to preliminary reports. Nearly 6,000 of these rounds were 122-mm artillery shells, the Emergencies Ministry said earlier.
The blasts at the ammunition depot had stopped by midday Wednesday (Moscow time), investigators said. The Emergencies Ministry earlier said that in the worst case scenario, the fire could continue for two or three days.
About 6,500 local residents have been evacuated from a village near the ammunition depot. A total of 48 people have sought medical help, of whom 11 have been hospitalized. The Emergencies Ministry said there was no threat to the population from any chemicals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on regional authorities and government ministers to “take measures to provide aid” to those affected by the explosions.
More than 1,500 personnel and over 240 units of machinery and equipment, including four drones, eight firefighting helicopters and two firefighting trains, have been deployed to contain the fire and explosions, the Emergencies Ministry said.
The incident is the latest in a string of fires and explosions at munitions storage and disposal sites that have plagued Russia in the past two years.
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