Seven people have been killed after a huge fire broke out at a key Russian defence research institute in Tver, north-west of Moscow, according to reports.
Local authorities said 25 people had also been injured in Thursday’s fire, Tass news agency reported, citing emergency services, and that at least 10 people were missing.
The death toll was initially put at five but Tass said it had increased to seven.
“We confirm a number of seven deaths at the moment,” Tass cited the source as saying. It added that the number of casualties could increase.
The fire erupted in an administrative building of the aerospace defence forces’ central research institute, which operates under the Russian defence ministry. It quickly engulfed the building’s upper three floors, forcing those inside to jump from windows and causing the roof to cave in.
Photographs of the main building showed it completely gutted by fire. Video footage from the scene, which is about 160km (100 miles) north-west of Moscow, showed thick smoke and flames billowing from the institute’s windows.
BREAKING: Massive Fire at #Russia’s Air-Space Defense Research Institute in Tver, 110 mile/180Km NW of Moscow.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 21, 2022
RT reporting at least one killed and 16 injured. Cause unknown: pic.twitter.com/E2xCHEkuJR
The incident was followed hours later by unconfirmed reports of a fire at one of Russia’s largest chemical plants.
Images on social media purported to show a large fire at the Dmitrievsky chemical plant in Kinsehma about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Moscow.
They showed smoke billowing from the facility, which describes itself on its website as the largest producer of butyl acetate and industrial solvents in Russia and eastern Europe.
There was no official cause given for either of the fires.
Initial reports said regional military prosecutors were investigating the cause of the blaze in Tver. The state-run news agency Tass said early findings pointed to ageing wiring as a contributing factor.
The defence institute is engaged in aerospace research, including on a unified air defence system for the CIS bloc of former Soviet republics, according to the Russian defence ministry’s website.
