Massive explosions at a Russian military ammunition depot in Siberia injured at least eight people and prompted the evacuation of thousands Monday (5 August).
Russia’s Defence Ministry said a fire triggered the explosions at a storage facility for gunpowder charges near the city of Achinsk in eastern Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region.
Authorities declared a state of emergency in the region and ordered the evacuation of residents of several districts in Achinsk, as well as towns and villages within 20 kilometres of the depot. Regional Gov. Alexander Uss said 6,000 people were being evacuated under the order.
Air traffic was suspended within 30 kilometres of the munitions site. Videos posted by local residents showed powerful explosions sending plumes of black smoke high into the sky. Ammunition depot explosions are not unusual in Russia. After the most recent incident in May 2018, a fire raged for almost a week before water drops from military aircraft and helicopters helped put out the blaze.
The fire at the base belonging to Russian Military Unit 74008, which manages a territorial arsenal in the village of Kamenka in the central Russian region of Krasnoyarsk began shortly before 1:00 PM local time on Aug. 5, 2019, according to state-run media outlet TASS. The fire quickly spread to a warehouse containing artillery ammunition, including shells and artillery rockets, as well as propelling charges, triggering a massive explosion. The base also reportedly houses various other munitions, including tank shells, anti-tank guided missiles, surface-to-air missiles.
TASS reported earlier in the day that the fires had been burning for more than five hours, though it is unclear if emergency personnel have been able to put them out since then. The Ministry of Defense had reportedly dispatched a pair of Uran-14 unmanned firefighting vehicles to the scene to help, given the dangers posed to first responders attempting to get close to enough to actually battle the flames.
The exact cause of the fire is unclear, but there are a number of forest fires raging across Siberia at present amid an unprecedented heatwave. This means that major firefighting resources are already spread thin in the region.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgtbuK4TB-Q&feature=youtu.be
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At the range of Alabino near Moscow, in the framework of the International military and technical forum “Army-2015”, combat capabilities of the Engineer Troops were demonstrated for the audience and specialists. Army-2015 was the first edition of the International Military-Technical Forum which was held in Moscow from the 16 to 19 June 2015. Read full technical data sheet about Uran- and Uran-14 at these links.
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