6,000 people evacuated due to ammunition depot explosion in Russia

The country's Investigative Committee believes that between three and eight people are still inside the ammunition depot.

On June 18, a huge explosion occurred at a Russian ammunition depot in the Samara region near the town of Chapaevsk, which was storing more than 13 million artillery shells. More than 500 firefighters were mobilized to put out the fire, and dozens of people living in the nearby area received medical care at the scene.

A series of large explosions following a fire at an ammunition depot shook the area, with shrapnel flying up to 1km away.

Police have now cordoned off the area, according to a statement from the Russian Emergencies Ministry. At least 6,000 residents in the area have been evacuated to safety. At least 11 people injured by shrapnel have been taken to hospital.

RIA quoted local police as saying that it was still impossible to control the spread of the fire or get close to the scene because ammunition fragments were scattered over a large area, making it impossible for firefighters to safely access the scene and extinguish the fire.

A representative of the Russian Investigative Committee told RIA that between three and eight people were believed to still be in the ammunition depot.

Local authorities have blocked roads leading to the weapons depots and asked Chapaevsk residents to stay away from the area where the explosion occurred. The town of Chapaevsk has a population of about 74,000 people, living within a 15-kilometer radius of the blast site.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry also said it was sending two planes with bomb disposal experts to the scene.

More than 500 firefighters and about 100 pieces of equipment are still battling the blaze at the site of the incident, the Emergencies Ministry said. Meanwhile, officials predict the fires and explosions could last for two to three days.

"The weapons stored in the warehouse exploded. In the worst case, the fire and explosion could last for 2-3 days," a law enforcement source told RIA.

Explosions at ammunition depots are not uncommon in Russia. Over the past three years, more than a dozen explosions have severely affected both civilians and military personnel. In July 2010, an explosion at an ammunition depot in the Altai region killed six people, including four civilians. In April 2011, an explosion at a military depot killed four civilians working for the Defense Ministry. Two months later, an explosion in June 2011 killed seven soldiers and injured more than 100.

In 2012 alone, there were 10 explosions at ammunition depots, including one in May 2012 that killed six people and injured four. Two weeks later, an explosion in the Nizhny Novgorod region in the Far East killed two people. In September 2012, a soldier in Orenburg was killed while unloading ammunition./.

According to VOV - DT