Radiation spike in Russia after explosion at missile test site kills two
- The explosion occurred during testing of a liquid propellant jet engine
- Four others were injured in the blast and emergency services are at the scene
- A local authority spokeswoman acknowledged a brief spike in radiation levels
- But the Russian Ministry of Defence had insisted the levels were normal
A short-term spike in radiation levels was recorded in a northern Russian city after a rocket engine exploded at a military testing site today, killing two people.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said the explosion occurred during testing of a liquid propellant jet engine at a military base in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region.
Government officials initially insisted radiation levels were normal but later a spokeswoman for the local authority acknowledged a spike.
Two people have been killed and four injured in an explosion at a Russian missile testing site in Arkhangelsk today (pictured)
A total of six servicemen and civilian engineers were injured, and two of them later died of injuries (pictured)
A total of six servicemen and civilian engineers were injured, and two of them later died of injuries.
A spokeswoman for authorities in the northern city who said there was a ‘short-term spike in radiation levels’, according to TASS news agency.
The type of device has not been revealed nor the reason for the explosion.
The country is particularly sensitive to radiation leaks after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
The ministry said: ‘During the test of a liquid propellant jet engine, an explosion occurred and the equipment caught fire.
‘As a result of the accident, six defence ministry employees and a developer were injured. Two specialists died of their wounds,’ it said, adding that radiation levels near the facility were ‘normal’.
‘There’s no radioactive contamination,’ a spokeswoman for the Arkhangelsk region, where the base is situated, said.
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 evacuated from their homes following the blaze at the depot in the Krasnoyarsk region.
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 (pictured)