At least two people have been killed after a series of explosions and fires at a weapons depot in central Russia, officials say.
The blasts ripped through the defence ministry navy depot on the outskirts of Ulyanovsk when soldiers attempted to decommission munitions.
The officials later said that 43 people who were feared dead had been found safe in a bomb shelter near the site. Some 3,000 people were evacuated from the surrounding area.
The depot is about 900km (550 miles) south-east of the capital Moscow.
Officials said artillery shells and torpedoes were kept at the arsenal, adding that a nearby chemicals weapons depot was not in any danger. A criminal investigation into the accident is now under way.
Ulyanovsk sits beside the Volga river and is the birthplace of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. |