MOSCOW: The death toll from an unexplained blast last week at a factory in Russia’s Ryazan region has jumped to at least 20, with another 134 people injured, emergency services said on Monday.
Pavel Malkov, governor of the Ryazan region that lies just southeast of Moscow, said last Friday that the incident had been triggered by a fire breaking out inside a workshop at the factory.
But it was unclear from Russian media reports what caused the fire or what the factory was producing. Official Russian sources gave no details beyond efforts to find and treat the injured. Some media reported that it was a explosives plant but Reuters was unable to immediately verify that information.
“As of August 18, 20 people died as a result of the emergency incident,” the local emergency service headquarters said in a post on Telegram.
“There are 134 injured, of whom 31 patients are in hospitals in Ryazan and Moscow, while 103 patients are undergoing outpatient treatment.”
Video footage released by the emergencies ministry showed parts of the plant completely destroyed, with rescuers working through giant piles of rubble with sniffer dogs.
In another video, psychologists were shown working with local residents to provide counselling.
At least 20 killed in incident at facility in Russia’s Ryazan region, 134 injured, RIA reports
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At least 20 killed in incident at facility in Russia’s Ryazan region, 134 injured, RIA reports
- It was not immediately clear from Russian media reports what caused the fire.
Afghan government says Pakistan strikes Kabul and border provinces
- A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pakistan struck overnight
- Islamabad last month launched a wave of air strikes on its neighbor, an operation it says is targeting militancy
KABUL: Afghan authorities said on Friday that Pakistan had carried out new strikes on Kabul and border provinces, killing four people in the capital.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Pakistan struck overnight, adding their forces targeted the Pakistani Taliban militant group, known as TTP.
Islamabad last month launched a wave of air strikes on its neighbor, an operation it says is targeting militancy following growing attacks in Pakistan.
But the Taliban government has denied any involvement or the use of Afghan territory for militancy.
Khalil Zadran, the spokesman for Kabul police, said four people had been killed and 15 wounded in the bombardment that hit homes in the capital, with women and children among the victims.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X that Pakistani strikes also hit the southern province of Kandahar, as well as eastern Paktia and Paktika, which border Pakistan.
In Kandahar, which is home to the administration’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, air strikes hit a fuel depot for airline Kam Air, near the airport.
This company supplies fuel to civilian airlines and United Nations aircraft.
Pakistan insists it has not killed any civilians in the conflict. Casualty claims from both sides are difficult to verify independently.
Afghan and Pakistani forces have also clashed repeatedly at the border in recent weeks, hampering trade and forcing nearby residents to leave their homes.
‘Open war’
The United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that 56 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan, including 24 children, by Pakistani military operations between February 26 and March 5.
About 115,000 people were forced to leave their homes, according to the UN refugee agency.
Fighting between the two countries intensified on February 26, when Afghanistan launched an offensive along the frontier, in retaliation for earlier Pakistani air strikes targeting the TTP.
Pakistan then declared “open war” against the Taliban authorities, bombing the capital, Kabul, on February 27.
Since then, clashes have increased in border regions, including overnight Wednesday to Thursday that the Afghan authorities said killed four members of the same family in Khost province.
The Taliban government said on Thursday that four members of the same family, including two children, were killed by Pakistani artillery and mortar fire in eastern Afghanistan.
Seven people had been killed in Afghanistan since Tuesday as a result of cross-border clashes between the two sides, according to the authorities in Kabul.
Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the latest deaths happened early Thursday in the village of Sadqo in Khost province, accusing Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian homes and nomads’ tents.
