Huge blast kills 16 at Russian chemicals plant

[October 22, 2021]    MOSCOW (Reuters) -Sixteen people were killed in an explosion and fire at a gunpowder and chemicals plant in Russia's western Ryazan province on Friday, Russian state TV said, and one man was taken to hospital with serious burns.

Firefighters work to put out a fire at a gunpowder and chemicals plant in Ryazan Region, Russia October 22, 2021. Russia's Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

The disaster wiped out practically the entire shift of 17 workers who were on site at the time, according to a list of names posted on social media.

A video showed the moment of the explosion, with a huge yellow fireball rising into the air, and photos of the aftermath showed a scene of total destruction, with smoke still rising from the rubble.

The exact cause was unclear, with TASS news agency quoting a source as saying it had been caused by a failure to observe proper technical procedures.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy and Olzhas Auyezov, writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by William Maclean)

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