A series of blasts occurred at the Kristall TNT factory in the town of Dzerzhinsk near Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, causing a fire. The blaze spread to engulf 1,200 square meters — 800 square meters on the territory of the plant and 400 square meters of a nearby forest. The fire has been contained. More than 400 emergency workers and over 50 fire trucks were involved in the operation.
The number of people injured in the blasts stands at 82, the regional emergency service said.
A spokesperson for the "Kristall" plant said:
"A fire broke out in one of the factory's buildings. The local staff acted swiftly and managed to evacuate the workers. The fire has caused damage to the building".
According to local officials, the blasts happened as a result of the technological process being violated.
Russia's scientific and research institute "Kristall" focuses on scientific, technical and technological support for work related to the production of explosive materials, as well as their safe transportation and utilisation. For more than 60 years the institute has been engaged in the development of explosive compounds for a wide range of propellants, gunpowder, and ammunition for different types of arms, and for civil industry. Since 2012 "Kristall" has been part of the JSC "Scientific-Production Consortium" "Mechanical Engineering" (holding structure of the State Corporation "Rostec").
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