Blast at explosives factory kills six in central Russia: Russian agencies

A blast at an explosives factory in the central Russian region of Samara killed six people and injured two others, Russian news agencies reported Friday.

The explosion occurred at the Promsintez plant in the city of Chapayevsk. “Eight people were injured, six of whom died,” the RIA Novosti news agency cited emergency services as saying.

They said the blast occurred “as a result of the dismantling of equipment during repair work.”

Promsintez is one of the main manufacturers of industrial explosives in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

The company employs 1,300 people and supplies the mining and oil and gas sector, according to its website.

The company that owns the factory was created in 1997, but the plant dates back to pre-revolutionary Russia, founded by the country’s last tsar, Nicholas II, in 1911.

Accidents at Russian factories — including deadly ones — are relatively common, with an often-lax approach to safety rules.

Last month, four people were killed in an explosion at a gunpower factory in the Tambov region, southeast of Moscow.

Many factories have been running at full speed in Russia since the start of the offensive in Ukraine.