A CCTV camera captured the moment a blast ripped through an explosives factory in Russia’s Ryazan region.
The footage shows workers on a platform loading white bags onto a flatbed truck, with the explosion devastating the workspace in mere seconds.
The deadly incident occurred on the territory of the Elastik synthetic fibre plant outside the village of Lesnoye on Friday morning.
A source in the Ministry of Emergency Situations told Sputnik that the fire began as a result of a violation of safety protocols in one of the plant’s workshops.
Around 170 firefighters and 50 pieces of firefighting equipment were deployed to extinguish a blaze raging across a 160 square metre area. Two ambulance brigades were sent to the epicentre, with one person taken to hospital but later dying after suffering burns to 80 percent of his body.
The Elastik synthetic fibre factory was opened in 1962 and in recent decades was used to produce explosives for the military and gas generators for submarines. The factory went bankrupt in 2015 and halted all operations in early 2017. According to the emergency services, its current owner was engaged in the production and storage of explosives and the disposal of ammunition.
A criminal investigation has been started in connection with the violation of industrial safety requirements in the production of hazardous materials, with the central office of Russia’s Investigative Committee taking charge of the probe and sending its criminologists to the area to establish a complete picture of what took place.
Ryazan authorities declared this coming Monday a day of mourning, with flags at administrative buildings to be lowered and changes made to media and local entertainment venues. Governor Nikolai Lyubimov says the families of each of those killed will be paid one million rubles’ in compensation (equivalent to about $14,200).