An explosion Friday morning at the Elastik gunpowder plant in Russia’s Ryazan region killed at least five people and injured more than 20, RIA Novosti reported, citing an emergency services representative.
“The injured have been taken to the district hospital. All emergency services are working at the scene,” the regional crisis center said. Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov has traveled to the site, and a task force has been formed to oversee the response.
Videos posted on Telegram show the aftermath of the blast, with a large fire and a thick column of smoke.
Baza, a Telegram channel with close ties to law enforcement, reported that some people remain trapped under rubble. More than 100 people have been evacuated from the plant. “The explosion occurred in a workshop where gunpowder is produced, due to a violation of safety rules. The entire workshop has been destroyed,” Baza wrote, without citing a source.