Chemical plant also on fire Fire destroys Russian research institute
April 21, 2022, 9:40 pm
A fire breaks out at a military research institute for rocket research near Moscow. At least seven people are killed. The Tass news agency reports a fire on the cable and reports another fire: at a chemical plant.
At least seven people died and 27 were injured in a fire at a military research institute in Russia. Several wounded were hospitalized after the incident in the city of Tver, 160 kilometers from Moscow, a spokesman for the regional hospital told the official TASS news agency.
According to initial findings, the fire may have been caused by obsolete electrical cables, the agency said. Eyewitnesses reported on Russian television that several employees of the Central Research Institute of Russian Aerospace Forces in Tver jumped from the upper floor windows to escape the flames.
Videos and photos showed how flames erupted from the building and thick clouds of smoke formed over the city. Dozens of fire engines and a helicopter were mobilized. The building in the center of the city practically caught fire, the roof collapsed. Media reported that there may still be people under the rubble.
The research institute is considered a central institute of the Ministry of Defense and has been involved in the development of the Iskander missile, which Russia is using intensively in the war against Ukraine. Among other things, the institute develops navigation, control and steering systems for space travel, but also for fighter planes and rockets.
Chemical factory also burns
A 1,500 square meter chemical plant also caught fire in Russia this morning. Dimitrevsky’s plant in Kineshma, 350 kilometers from Moscow, is the largest solvent producer in Russia and Eastern Europe. Russian news agency Tass reports that the fire was extinguished at 1:45 pm local time. 143 people were evacuated from the building.