An explosion has ripped through a factory said to house fireworks in the Moscow region, injuring at least 40 people and raising questions as to whether the blast was the result of an accident or of a targeted attack.
The explosion took place at about 10:40am local time on Wednesday at a factory workshop in Sergiev Posad, about 40 miles (65km) from central Moscow. Video of the blast showed a mushroom cloud of smoke rising into the air over the Zagorsk optical mechanical plant, which in the past has manufactured night-vision goggles and other imaging equipment for the Russian military. Factory officials ordered a “total evacuation” of the area.
No deaths have been confirmed, but the Moscow region’s governor, Andrei Vorobyov, said it was possible that workers had been trapped under the debris, which would take an estimated 24 hours to dig through. He said the factory workshop where the explosion had taken place was being rented by a private company.
Just hours before the blast, the Russian defence ministry said it had foiled a Ukrainian drone attack over the Moscow region. But Russian officials moved quickly to counter speculation that the explosion could be the result of a drone attack.
Russia’s investigative committee said it had launched an inquiry into a “violation of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities”, indicating that it believed the explosion had been the result of an accident. Vorobyov said investigators had not yet confirmed what had caused the blast but added that there was no evidence the workshop had been hit by a drone.
Speaking to local media, Vorobyov said the workshop where the blast had taken place held pyrotechnics and did not manufacture optical equipment. Reports in Russian state media said the plant produced fireworks used at the Victory Day parade held in Moscow and other cities across Russia on 9 May.
Factory officials said the blast wave had damaged other buildings at the site. Video shot from a nearby entranceway showed locals being knocked over by the force of the explosion, which shattered windows and sent debris flying hundreds of metres away. Officials from the military, the FSB security service and the emergencies ministry were all at the site to prevent further damage and also to establish the cause of the explosion, Vorobyov said.
Baza, a Russian media channel with close ties to law enforcement, reported that the owner of the Piro-Ross company, which produces fireworks, was being interrogated by officials.
There have been dozens of incidents at sensitive Russian facilities since the beginning of the war on 24 February 2022. Those have included oil refineries, factories that produce ammunition, and headquarters of defence companies.
Kyiv has offered coy denials of drone and sabotage attacks on Russian military and manufacturing sites, maintaining an air of deniability over a suspicious spate of explosions inside Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has also denied attacks have taken place, instead regularly blaming human error or accidents.
