New blast at Ulyanovsk arms depot kills at least eight
Latest update : 2009-11-23
At least eight people were killed and two more injured in an explosion at a Russian navy arms and munitions depot in Ulyanovsk, south-east of Moscow. A similar blast took place at the same depot just 10 days ago.
REUTERS - At least eight people were killed and two injured on Monday when munitions exploded at a Russian navy arms depot, the second such incident at the same arsenal in 10 days, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry said.
The explosions took place at Arsenal Number 31 in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk, a city of 635,000 people about 800 km (500 miles) southeast of Moscow.
"Eight people were killed and two injured while loading munitions for decommissioning," said a Defence Ministry spokesman.
The spokesman said the blast took place at 1430 local time (1130 GMT).
Russia's poorly trained and badly paid military has suffered frequent accidents with their ageing equipment in recent years. Western military attaches say safety standards are low.
Previous mishaps in the Russian armed forces have sometimes led to sackings of senior generals and military officials.
Date created : 2009-11-23