Explosions at Russian munitions depot as villages are evacuated

Ten Russian villages are evacuated after explosions at munitions depot sparked by wildfires

Ten villages in Russia have been evacuated after wildfires sparked a blaze at an ammunition depot, causing multiple explosions.

Rounds could be heard detonating once every five to ten seconds, Russian news agencies reported, while videos posted online showed a thick column of smoke rising into the sky, along with occasional fireballs.

All ten villages are located within a three-mile radius of the arms depot in the Ryazan region, 115 miles south of Moscow. 

Witnesses said shrapnel and ash could be seen falling from the sky, and that four large explosions took place within the first hour of the fire taking hold.

The villages of Shelemikhino and Zheltukhino were feared to have been damaged by the blasts, which shook the windows of homes several miles away.

The damage was also feared to have spread to the village of Kuzminka-2, though the Defense Ministry insisted there was no danger to other settlements.

‘Personnel and civilian staffers were evacuated. No one was injured … There is no threat to the nearby settlements,’ a Western Military District spokesman said. 

The Emergencies Ministry said a motorway was also being closed down to prevent passing motorists from being injured.

The depot caught fire when a blaze in a nearby field was swept towards it by the wind, the Russian military was cited by the TASS news agency as saying. 

No one was hurt at the site and troops and civilians were evacuated, it added.

Fires and explosions at ammunition depots have plagued the Russian army for years and drawn criticism of lax safety standards.

An Il-76 tanker plane and a fire train are being prepared to extinguish the fire as a major emergency operation got underway.

Military specialists were being drafted in after civilian fire services were left struggling to tackle the blaze.