VORONEZH, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Safety inspectors, supervisory bodies and the owners are responsible for Wednesday's deadly explosion at a fireworks warehouse in the southwest Russian city of Voronezh, the regional governor has said.
One man was killed and 34 were injured in the blast, which completely destroyed the one-story warehouse as well as damaging nearby residential buildings.
"The outrageous irresponsibility of the owners and the managers as well as of the safety inspectors and other services led to the tragedy," Voronezh Region Governor Alexei Gordeyev said. He added that the fireworks should have been stored better.
He said that all those to blame, including the officials who permitted the storage of the explosives, would be punished.
"It is inadmissible that a warehouse containing dangerous products was located in a residential area without due protection and the observance of safety norms," he added.
Earlier reports said that 54 people were injured in the accident. However, it has now been established that 20 of these people suffered only very minor injuries.
Voronezh Region emergency services chief Igor Kobzev said earlier that those injured were residents of apartment buildings near the warehouse. Their injuries, he said, were caused by glass shards from the windows shattered by the explosion.
He also said that, according to preliminary information "violations of safety standards for storing explosive material could have caused the blast."
