Russia: At least 5 dead in explosion at military test site
The nuclear energy company Rosatom said that the five workers died "while testing a liquid jet propulsion system" and three more employees were wounded and "have burns of varying severity."
At least five persons, employees at Rosatom, Russia's nuclear energy company, were killed in an explosion at a military test site in northern Russia, the state-run firm said on Saturday.
According to CNN, the incident had taken place on Thursday near Severodvinsk, a town located in the Arkhangelsk region which is home to a naval base and a shipyard. Initially, two people were killed and four others were injured in the blast, the Russian Defence Ministry had said.
In a statement, Rosatom said that the five workers died "while testing a liquid jet propulsion system" and three more employees were wounded and "have burns of varying severity."
Local authorities said that sensors "recorded a short-term increase in the radiation background" at 11:50 AM (local time) on Thursday when the blast took place. However, the radiation level started decreasing by 12:30 pm and returned to normal levels at around 2 pm, Rosatom said.
This was the second accident to hit the Russian military in less than a week. At least 12 people had suffered injuries in an explosion at an ammunition depot in the Krasnoyarsk region on Tuesday.