MOSCOW, Aug 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two people were killed and a short-term spike in radiation levels was recorded in a northern Russian city after a rocket engine exploded at a military testing site on Thursday.
“A short-term rise in background radiation was recorded at 12 o’clock in Severodvinsk,” Ksenia Yudina, a spokeswoman for the city authorities, was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
City officials said background radiation levels had fully “normalised”. The population of Severodvinsk was 185,000 at the beginning of 2017, according to officials.
The Defence Ministry had said earlier on Thursday that radiation levels were normal after the explosion.
“During the test of a liquid propellant jet engine, an explosion occurred and the equipment caught fire,” the Defence Ministry said.
“As a result of the accident, six defence ministry employees and a developer were injured. Two specialists died of their wounds,” it said.
The rocket engine explosion occurred at a weapons testing area near the village of Nyonoksa in Arkhangelsk region, the Interfax news agency said.
Russian media said an area near Nyonoksa is used for tests on weapons including ballistic and cruise missiles that are used by the Russian navy.
The accident is the second to hit the Russian military in less than a week, after a fire broke out in an ammunition depot in Siberia on Monday, causing huge explosions.
At least one person was killed and eight injured while thousands had to be evacuated from their homes following the blaze at the depot in the Krasnoyarsk region. — NNN-AGENCIES
