6 Killed in Weapons Depot Blast in Russia
Six soldiers were killed and 12 injured on Tuesday in a blast at an anti-aircraft missile facility in the Astrakhan region, the fourth such incident since April, the Defense Ministry said.
The blast took place outdoors at the Ashuluk facility, the ministry said in a statement that did not report the condition of the injured or the cause of the blast.
A spokesman for military prosecutors in the Southern Military District said investigators are “not ruling out any version, but the violation of safety rules during destruction of old ammunition remains a priority one,” RIA-Novosti reported.
A source in the Astrakhan police also told the news agency that the ammunition had been mishandled, but did not elaborate.
The lifenews.ru tabloid cited two conflicting sources, both unidentified, that said the soldiers were preparing obsolete missiles for destruction or that the rockets were new and intended for test launches.